Good Days and Bad Days
by swiggy3000
Summary: One night Harry Potter walks into a pub and sees a honey-blonde woman sitting along and glancing his way. He decides to go over to her and the rest of his life is changed by this simple act. Post-War AU
1. The Meeting

**A/N: This version of Daphne is not going to be the typical Pureblood Princess that you see in most other stories. Just putting that out there now. I know that's not everyone's cup of tea and I hope you keep reading but this is going to be a bit different than most other Harry/Daphne fics out there. You have been warned.**

Harry Potter felt the cool crisp October air hit him as he walked around London. It was his day off and he wanted to go and enjoy himself as best he could, being an Auror was stressful work and he longed to take advantage of any free time he had when he wasn't sleeping.

Truth be told, he was no longer sure it was worth it. It was when thing when you were operating alone against a Dark Lord but a whole other thing when you had to work as part of a team, do paperwork, and follow every regulation to the tee. He still enjoyed it to an extent but was finding the work less fulfilling then he had hoped.

Still, he could put that to the back of his mind for now. He needed to get a bite to eat and go out and have some fun even if that meant going it alone. Ron, Neville, and Hermione were all working and he wasn't interested in sitting around his flat doing nothing, at 21 he didn't feel like rotting away.

This desire led him to a pub that he had heard good things about. It was busy but not overly so, just the way that he liked it. He was a few drinks in when he noticed that he was being watched. Given how his life had turned out thus far he had a sixth sense for this sort of thing.

There was a blonde woman on the other side of the pub who wasn't staring at him but she was eyeing him up, he noticed. Not in the way other women were either. Harry wasn't foolish, ever since his very public break-up with Ginny he had gotten a fair number of witches throwing themselves at him. This was different though, they seemed to be more glances where she'd quickly look away and go back to whatever she was doing, which didn't look like much. She was alone and seemed a hair uncomfortable there. There was something familiar about her too.

He glanced over at her only to catch her glancing at him, which made her very interested in her drink. It was almost like she knew him. He briefly debated if she was some Death Eater threat but those had stopped about a year ago and it wasn't like he frequented this location. He debated just leaving it be, paying and moving on but something about her blonde hair drew him to her. What'd one conversation hurt?

He walked over to her and she looked a little shocked and uneasy as he sat down. He briefly wondered if she had a boyfriend of any sort but decided to press onward.

"How are you tonight?" he asked her as a blush crept up her pale cheeks.

"I-I'm well," she said seemingly unsure what else to say.

"That's good, I couldn't help but notice you were looking over at me," Harry said causing her blush to deepen.

"Just a bit," she admitted though she didn't seem happy about it. He debated what to say next but unexpectedly she spoke first. "You don't remember me, do you?" she blurted out taking Harry aback a bit.

"I..uh…ummm" Harry said wracking his brain. He hadn't slept with her, he was sure of that. He could count the number of women on his one hand and she didn't match any of them.

The blonde looked a little hurt and a little bemused at the same time. "Can't say I blame you. We didn't exactly run in the same circles," she said sipping on her drink.

Harry was taken aback by this thinking of who this could be. She let him squirm for about thirty seconds before letting him off the hook. "Daphne Greengrass, one of those snakes," she said adding a bit of a hissing sound at the end and laughing at her own joke.

Harry once again wracked his brain and tried to place her. "I vaguely remember you in a few uh…classes in the basement," he said not wanting to say anything with muggles around, even if it was loud.

Daphne sighed. "That seems to be…how most people remember me," she said as Harry looked over her and he understood why. If you took away her hair the rest of her was quite unremarkable. Her eyes were a lovely shade of blue as well, but her skin was a little pasty and her nose a hair too large. She didn't look unpleasing to the eye, but no one would mistake her for some great beauty.

There was also a bit of plumpness to her. Once again not overly unpleasing but no one was about to mistake this woman for a model, she was simply average or a bit above so.

"Sorry, but given the state of your house…" Harry trailed off trying to remember the name Greengrass. He didn't believe it had come up during the Death Eater trials, but he couldn't be sure. If it did, not an inner circle name at least.

"It's fine," she said sipping on her drink again bouncing a bit in her seat. "Not like anyone ever really mixed houses that much. I mean some people did but the whole superior to everyone thing kinda hurt my house. Plus, the older years kinda threatened us against making friends outside our house which seems silly since we should have made connections. Not that its really mattered for me," she said starting to relax a little bit.

"Really? Why do they do that?" he asked leaning in a bit closer. Daphne shrugged.

"Who knows? Old bloodlines and rivalry sort of thing. I don't know how it was supposed to work I just wanted to learn, mostly," she said.

Harry was fairly certain he wasn't going to learn anymore and subconsciously was in Auror mode at the moment. He didn't know why but there was just something interesting about her. "So…what's a Pureblood doing in a muggle bar?" he whispered causing her to shift a bit in her seat and tap her fingers on the table.

"I…uh…well…" she said sweating a bit. "Sorry, it's just…you're Harry Potter. I never actually thought you'd give me the time of day," she said.

"Why is that?" he asked.

"The whole well everything with how my House treated you," she said.

"Yes well, I don't like to just assume things about people. So why are you here?' he asked trying to steer the conversation back in that direction.

"Do you know who Draco is marrying?" she asked seemingly out of the blue.

"Astoria Green…" he started, and a few things started to click in his head. "Ah, he's marrying your sister but that doesn't explain…" he said trying to connect the dots.

"Correct, and they needed someone out of the way," she said sounding a little bitter.

Harry once again went deep into his mind and thought about what he knew about Astoria and he honestly knew less than nothing, but he remembered seeing a picture of them and suddenly things clicked in his mind.

Astoria may have been a brunette, but it was obvious who was blessed with the beauty in the family. He elected not to dwell on it.

"So, he was supposed to marry…" he started, and Daphne nodded.

"Marriage contract. Not overly strange in Pureblood families but Draco didn't find me pleasing and thus very few boys did," she sighed and took a sip of her drink. "Soooo they worked out a deal where he would marry Astoria but she's not the Greengrass heiress or wasn't the main one," Daphne said as Harry squirmed in his seat. He barely knew this girl and from what he knew about his finances was likely complicated.

"I apologize Daphne, you don't have to…" he started but she put up her hand and shook her head.

"No one else knows I have to tell…someone," she said her voice straining as she looked at him and unable to say no, Harry nodded his head for her to continue.

"A deal was worked out. I get my share of money, but Astoria is the Heiress now and I get hidden away. Not that it really matters. I still mail Tracey from time to time but it's not like it was in school," she said sounding sad.

This had not been what Harry thought he was going to hear when he came over. He sipped on his drink and thought about leaving. He didn't really know this woman and he had no direct connection to her story, it would be easy. There was something in those blue eyes though that made him stay. Even if they never talked again he could finish this with her.

"Doesn't she ask about it?" Harry wondered aloud.

"She does but she knows how this works. They couldn't find a good match for me, so I get my money, but they get their little trophy. On the plus side, no marriage contract for me," she said her voice a little up and down.

"That's good at least," Harry said. "I couldn't imagine marrying someone just because. I swear that's what people wanted to happen with me and Ginny," he said hoping that he could move the conversation away from her.

"I heard about that. I had just assumed that well you would. I mean we all thought it. I read about it every day," she said. "Any reason for the break-up or was it that you forced her to get an abortion because the unborn baby was part Voldemort?" she asked so deadpan that Harry wasn't sure if she was serious or not. Then she broke out laughing. "Kidding," she said. "Honestly, it's none of my business. I just hope it was for the best,"

Harry ran his hands through his hair and nodded. "It was. It wasn't fun, but we were different people. Her making the National Team didn't help matters either," he sighed.

"I think she just assumed that she was the only Chaser in England. I remember reading about that too. They didn't do her any favors though. I saw her play a bit and she's good for league play but National…" Daphne said making a motion with her hand and Harry nodded.

"Yeah…I didn't want to have to tell her that. It's over and done with now though. It's kind of nice not being a relationship," he said offhandedly, and she gave him a look but said nothing.

"If you're happy that's what matters, how's Auror life?" she asked finishing her drink and ordering another when the waitress came back over.

"I…don't know. I like it I suppose but…when you've spent your life being chased and having to fight. I do wonder if I want to keep it up," he admitted expecting some sort of stunned silence. Instead all she did was nod at him.

"Makes sense. You're still young, you'll have plenty of time to decide," she said leaving Harry a little amazed that she was that kind to a stranger. "I thought I'd have a job at my dad's company," she said.

"What happened there?" Harry asked out of politeness.

"I didn't get one O and he wanted to see how Astoria did. She got almost as good as Granger, so the selection was obvious. I didn't want to take any Wizarding jobs either. Humiliating with how public it'd be with my sister out there, so I work a muggle job," she said sighing a bit.

"And what do you do?" Harry asked not showing his surprise.

"I work on phones. Customer service," she sighed looking forlorn and drinking.

Harry heard no pride in her voice. This had to have been a tough pill to swallow. Either make people wonder why she wasn't marrying Draco or not be around magic.

"It's fine, really. I took muggle studies and a squib in the family taught me a few things. Lovely woman," Daphne said smiling tightly.

"Fair enough, and it's just for a bit," Harry said, and she nodded vigorously.

"Exactly! I want to run my own business one day. I just don't have a clue what that will be but I'm going to do it. I just need a bit of luck," she said a hint of desperation in her voice.

Harry didn't say anything else and just sipped on his drink. He should really be on his way but there was something interesting about her. He wanted to know a bit more and in an odd way he felt bad for her. He didn't imagine that most Purebloods could make it a week in the muggle world, but she was reasonably dressed and making it work.

They both sat there in silence for a few minutes neither one really sure what to say and both a bit lost in their thoughts.

"Do you live around here?" Daphne asked finally. "I've never seen you here before, not that I do this often," she said unease in her voice.

"Yes, you?" Harry asked.

"Yes, few blocks north," she said, and Harry thought about the area. Fairly nice, so either her job paid well, or her inheritance was sizeable despite not being the face of the family. "Would you maybe like to get together again sometime?" Daphne asked looking a bit pale to Harry.

"You mean like get together here or…" he said as she started to shrink in on herself and turn red. Harry thought about it for a half second. "I mean of course I'd like to. You're right a pub isn't the best place but somewhere nice," he said and she visibly relaxed.

"Great," she said gathering her things and putting some money down to pay her tab. "I just…need to be going but do you have a phone?" she asked.

"Yes, I prefer it that way," Harry said having still been unable to buy himself a new owl ever since the War.

"Perfect, I can't live without one," she said writing down her number for him on a napkin. "It was a pleasure meeting you, you'll call?" she asked her eyes looking at him intently.

"Yes, have a good evening," she said hurrying out, her heels clicking on the hard floor. Unable to help himself Harry gazed at her rear, it was a bit full but not overly so. He looked at the number and wondered if he had done the right thing.

She wasn't much to look at, but their conversation had been intriguing and she wasn't really fawning over him. Sure, there was some of the Boy-Who-Lived, Man-Who-Conquered interest there but she didn't immediately go after that. Just bringing up her family had been awkward, but she seemed to take it in stride. Learning more about a person was never a bad thing though and it was just a date. She wasn't going to demand they go somewhere to be seen by the press or with other witches and wizards. It might be nice to start off on a non-awkward foot with her. He downed the rest of his drink and moved to pay his bill. The night was still young, and he wanted to blow off some more steam.

Meanwhile a blonde woman was currently scurrying home replaying what she had done. She hadn't meant to ask out Harry Bloody Potter. She had been sure she'd never meet him in person. She had missed her chances at school and her heirs would forever wonder why she hadn't just talked to him.

That didn't matter now though because she had a date with him. The thought scared her to pieces. She was sure he'd say no; a decent amount of men did but he was willing to just give her the chance. Hopefully, he'd call. She kicked herself for not getting his number. He said he'd call though and she'd just have to believe that for right now. She could deal with this. She felt like a bundle of nerves, but she could deal with it, for now at least.

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	2. The Date

**A/N: Thank you to all who reviewed and the kind words. I am looking for a Beta at the moment so if anyone is interested feel free to PM me. Chapters won't normally come out this fast, but I am feeling inspired at the moment.**

 **Chapter 2**

Harry was breathing softly and waiting. They had gotten a tip on big deal going down in Knockturn Alley and he was waiting for it. He was kneeling, hidden, and wand was already in his hand. The waiting was the worst part. He knew that being an Auror meant detective work, but he didn't understand just how much waiting around for things to happen there was. Then again not everyone was as aggressive as Voldemort.

It was late, about two in the morning. He wondered if they were actually going to show tonight. There could be a lot of bad leads which led to wasted nights and despite saving the wizarding world Harry seemed to get a lot of these stakeout assignments. Harry understood that but couldn't help but feel a bit resentful at times. He had lost a fair chunk of his life to dealing with things far more advanced than others had seen but he was the one who had to work like this. He knew that's how things had to be, and it was fair, but he couldn't help those thoughts at times.

His thoughts were broken as he saw a man appear carrying a trunk. This was their man, he just had to wait for the buyer to show. It turned out that he didn't have to wait long. The other man turned up and Harry waited, they started to talk, and the trunk was open.

"Stupefy! Stupefy!" he cried out hitting both men with the spell dead on. He and a few other Auror's stationed came out one of the older ones glaring.

"I told you I was going to get them," Stevens, a more senior Auror, said. Harry shrugged him off.

"I had my shot, let's see what we have here," he said checking the trunk. "The tip was right," he said reaching into the expanded trunk and pulling out a magic carpet. "At least 50 illegal ones," he said trying to smile at the successful stakeout.

They brought both of them in and then Harry spent the next few hours doing all the paperwork necessary. He understood why it had to be done but he found the mundane nature of it mind numbing. He had hoped it would have been dragon eggs or something of the like but at least a smuggler was going away.

Harry then apparated home and went to sleep. When he woke up he went through his mail. Nothing too interesting, a publisher was once again trying to buy the rights to his life story. Some financials from George had come in as well. He really should go and check in on the store, profits were up. Still he was a partner and should at least make sure George was doing alright.

When he got to the bottom of the mail he found a paper with Daphne's number on it. It had been about five days since he had met her, and he honestly did mean to call but work had been so busy that he had forgotten. He wondered if he should call her, it had been almost a week. He had accepted the number though and there had been times during the week he had thought of her.

"I'll need to ask Hermione about her," he said waving his wand and starting some tea for himself. He wasn't sure how much Hermione knew about other students more than he did. A bit of a failure on his part back when he had been in school but nothing to be done about that now.

He walked over and dialed her number. It was a bit early in the evening, she might not be home. He was mentally prepared to leave a message when someone answered.

"Hello?" a somewhat raspy voice asked.

"Is this Daphne?" Harry asked to be certain.

"Yes, who is this?" Daphne asked her voice perking up a bit.

"Harry, Harry Potter,"

"Oh Harry! I thought you weren't going to call," she said.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Work got busy and well I have the evening off and I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner?"

"Of course! Where do you want to go?" she asked.

"There's this Italian place I've been wanting to try," he said figuring avoiding wizarding restaurants for now would be better. The last thing he wanted was his picture in the Prophet.

"That would be great! Meet there or pick me up?" she asked as he heard noises in the background, her starting to get ready.

"I can pick you up in…would two hours be good?" he asked checking the time.

"Great!" she chirped giving her address and then hanging up the phone. Harry looked at his and decided to take out a few defensive spell books and look over some of the more interesting spells. He hadn't really come across anyone who used them nor had he any need but as long as he was an Auror it was always good to have a few spells to throw people off.

Time seemed to fly by as Harry tried to work on a spell that would turn the floor slippery. His main issue being that he turned his entire floor slippery instead of certain parts at first. He spent an hour on that before deciding it was time to go and get ready.

He ended up dressing casual while still looking nice. He found himself getting more excited the closer it got, his last date hadn't gone well. She had wanted to go to a new restaurant that had opened in Diagon Alley after the war and he was flooded with people taking pictures, looking at him, or thanking him for all he had done. He tried not to blame them, but he knew that one woman had thanked him about five times by now. She had eaten all the attention up making Harry certain that she wasn't interested in getting to know the real him.

Daphne might be like that too, but he felt he had a fighting chance for a few normal dates with her. He made his way over to her place and as he expected it was a more well-off part of town. Not that he was living in squalor himself he just opted for something more level headed. He still owned Grimmauld Place as well but had yet to decide what to do with it. Between the amount of dark magic and the memories of Sirius he had done the minimum with it, mostly hired a few Magical Creature teams to go in and make sure there was nothing living there, and some curse breakers incase anything had been missed when the Order was headquartered there.

The only things that had been found were a dragon egg that was so old it was hard as a rock. It had likely been that way when the Blacks bought it and was more for decoration. The curse breakers had found out that the piano was cursed to attempt to bite the hands off the player if they attempted to play 'Greensleeves'.

Harry put all that in the back of his head as he knocked on her door. This was supposed to be a fun night and thinking of problems wouldn't do anything for anyone. Daphne answered and smiled at him. "Please come in," she said ushering him in. "I'm almost done getting ready," she said as he looked around her place. The first thing he noticed was how immaculately clean the place looked. Nothing was out of place and it looked like some sort of model instead of a place where someone actually lived.

"I just have to finish my make-up," Daphne said brimming with excitement. He looked over her and she looked very nice. She had opted for a black dress that seemed to help her curves instead of making them look too much. He wasn't sure if she had been wearing make-up the other night, but she did have a different glow about her.

"That's fine," Harry said sitting down on the couch and looked around a bit. He saw a few pictures of her with a dark-haired woman with the same stunning blue eyes as her, Astoria. There were a few family pictures as well and a few from Hogwarts.

There were a few muggle items such as a TV and a few other electronics around. She either didn't use magic too much or they were just for show. Given that she lived in the muggle world he couldn't imagine she was overly reliant on magic.

Not that he was either, but he didn't really bother with most electric items. There seemed to be a balance where some magic was okay and wouldn't interfere too much. It was why he had a phone, but he didn't want to constantly go through more high-end items because her practice magic at home.

Just then she came out smiling as she put her earrings on. "I'm ready," she said her heels clicking on the hard floor.

"Great," Harry said leading the way. "It's only a few blocks, do you mind walking?" he asked.

"Not at all," she said grabbing her purse.

"Have you lived her long?" he asked.

"About a year or so. It's nice and I like it but well you know it's just a place. Good week at work?" she asked.

"Yeah, just the same old stuff. Taking down small-time smugglers,"

"Have to stop them before they get to big time, but that's good. More interesting then what I do," Daphne said as they reached the door and the cooler night hair hit them.

"How'd you come to that job anyway?" Harry asked.

"Easy job, I've been told I have a nice over the phone voice," she said shrugging. "Besides our education doesn't give me many…muggle avenues," she whispered, and he had to nod in agreement.

"Yes, Hermione mentioned that. She briefly looked at her non-Wizard options and they aren't…" he said trailing off not wanting to say they were all bad.

"Yeah but I have some money, so I do well enough," she said. They walked in a bit of an awkward silence for a few minutes until they reached the restaurant in question. They were seated quickly, away from some of the other tables, so they would have privacy, and Harry ordered wine for them.

"So how was your week?" he asked.

Daphne played with the fabric of her dress under the table. "Mostly good, had a bad day yesterday," she said.

"I'm sorry, what happened?" he asked, and she shrugged.

"Just…a long day," she said leaving it at that.

Harry just nodded not bothering to press her. He opened his mouth to speak again but she cut him off.

"So how much of you is real?" she blurted out.

"Excuse me?" Harry asked.

"I mean…well there were all these rumors in school and after the whole War I guess I just assumed you'd write one or something, but it's all still just rumors and Prophet or magazine articles which speculate," she said.

"I'd prefer not to talk about that here for obvious reasons," he said bristled by her.

Daphne blushed and shoved her head into her menu at least having the decency to look embarrassed. "Sorry, I just…I don't know," she said as their waiter came over not helping the tenseness. They both ordered pasta plates and without her menu to hide behind she just smiled tightly looked at him squirming under his gaze.

"I just…I'm sorry. I just didn't know and well I mean…" she said falling over her own words.

Harry sighed and shook his head. "It's fine, I get it. I just would prefer to talk about other things," he said trying to lighten the mood. "We've just held certain things back for reasons it's not something that we really share," he said speaking of him, Ron, and Hermione.

"I get it I just…well how many times do I get to talk to Harry Potter. I'm sorry for my rudeness," she said though the line sounded a bit rehearsed.

"Don't worry about it, really," he said, and she nodded at him.

"Do you still like to fly? Malfoy would kill me for saying this, but you were amazing when you played. Plus, everything you did against that dragon was just…I'd have died," she said.

"I don't do it as much as I'd like but I still do it from time to time," he said.

"That's good! I was always horrible at flying. My parents tried to teach me, and I think I just sobbed until they gave up on me," she laughed.

"It couldn't have been that bad," he said smiling.

"Oh, it was, my mom said she went deaf for a week. I learned a bit eventually but just being up that high is…" she said shifting and squirming. "Not something I enjoy,"

"Understandable, it can be risky even when you know what you're doing,"

"I think that's why I get so impressed by those who do fly like that. I just watch it and I can't imagine having the instincts or well anything really," Daphne said relaxing.

"Well everyone has something they're good at, yours just isn't flying," Harry said as the waiter came over with their plates.

Daphne just murmured a bit and nodded at him, she started to eat her meal. They sat in silence for a bit just eating before Daphne broke it again. "I'm sorry if I'm being boring. I just…" she said.

Harry shook his head. "Hey, it's fine. I mean, first dates are always like this unless you know the person first," he said.

"I suppose you're right. It's just well I guess, it's weird I've read a lot about you but then again I don't really know you even though it feels like I do if that makes any sense," Daphne said reaching for some bread.

"It does, it's a bit strange. I only gave a few interviews, but a lot of people feel like they know me. I had one woman act as if all those books about me, made without my permission, were the real me," Harry said.

Daphne nodded. "Expectations like that can be hard to meet. My parents were that way. I could never quite meet them," she said bitterly. "But, I'm my own woman now so it doesn't really matter. I do love my family, but you can't imagine what it's like growing up in one of those manors," she said.

"You're right, I can't. I had the opposite problem. Nothing was expected of me until I got my letter,"

"What do you mean?" Daphne asked.

Harry then proceeded to give her a very vague and edited version of his childhood. He left out anything terrible, he barely knew her, but she got the idea that his relatives were fairly uncaring.

"That sounds…horrible really. We always thought you grew up in some secret castle that Dumbledore had set up for you. That's why he liked you so much,"

"Really? What was the castle like?" Harry teased.

"Kind of like Hogwarts but more luxury. Malfoy was sure the muggles were just a cover story and Pansy thought your glasses were part of an act," she said taking another sip of wine.

"And why was that?" he asked.

Daphne shrugged. "To make people think you were unassuming. I don't know you have to remember we were kids and you were all Draco blathered on about I mean we get it Potter this and Potter that. I thought he might have had feelings for you. Kept that to myself. I valued my life," she said causing Harry to break out laughing at the absurdity of it all.

"Okay that was…wow," he said as the waiter came over and cleared their plates asking if they wanted dessert. Daphne bit her lip and Harry could feel her knee bounce under the table a little bit.

"I'm getting something if you want to get something," Harry said and once again the bundle of nerves across from him relaxed. "I'll just have what he's having," she said. They both ended up getting tiramisu.

"So, what's the rest of your week look like?" she asked taking a bite of her dessert.

"Work and well work. I'm going to meet up with Ron and Hermione at some point," Harry said.

"Ah yes, how are they? They're married?" she asked not sure.

"Engaged, they're getting married in a few months," Harry said. "It's been…crazy. Between his family and her family and I'm just on the sidelines,"

"I can imagine, Hermione was intense, and his family is…" she said not wanting to say anything rude.

"Don't like the Weasley's?" he asked.

Daphne sighed and slumped a bit again. "It's not that. I just have had bad experiences,"

"What do you mean?" he asked trying to think what they could have been.

"No opinion the oldest three really but pranks really aren't my thing," she said shifting a bit more and looking down her foot tapping on the floor.

"I can understand that," he said. He had never been on the receiving end of anything too bad, but he knew that Slytherin's were targets of his house and vice versa but sometimes people who weren't interested ended up as collateral.

"Oh, phew and well I just never really knew Ron or Ginny that well. Ron just seemed to hate my house and Ginny could be a bit aggressive," she said.

"I understand that at least but they're really not that bad. I think Hogwarts just isn't the best environment or wasn't the best. House loyalty was kind of cult like when we were there," he said after thinking about it for a minute.

"I'm sure," she said not believing him but not wanting to insult him either. They finished up dessert and he paid for them. They started walking back to her place.

"I had fun tonight," Daphne said as they neared her place.

"Same," Harry said thinking that despite a few bumps in the road this had been much more fun than just sitting around his apartment practicing spells or something of the like.

"Would you like..." Daphne started. Harry cut her off.

"Sure. I'm not totally certain of my schedule but what times work for you?"

"I'm off Saturdays and Sundays and any time after six during the week," she said smiling. There was something alluring about that smile, he thought to himself.

"Great, I have your number and I'll give you a call but in case I do get busy," he said taking out his wallet and pen. "Here is mine," he said.

"Lovely," Daphne unlocking her door. "I'll see you later," she said gingerly moving to hug him, he returned it and she entered her apartment as he departed. That hadn't gone too badly. There was something about her that he found interesting, he couldn't quite place his finger on it though.

Meanwhile Daphne was in her bathroom removing her make-up. "That didn't go too poorly. Almost screwed it up but I honestly thought I might only have one night," she said to her reflection. "He seems interested though, merlin knows why. Oh well not going to look a gift horse in the mouth," she said as she continued to get ready for bed, feeling like she was on cloud nine.

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	3. The Conversations

**A/N: Another chapter that's a bit of a slow build but as the story gets deeper it'll be a bit less of this. It will still be there it's just other things will be happening too. Thanks to all that have reviewed!**

 **Chapter 3**

"Hermione, what do you know about Daphne Greengrass?" Harry asked as he sat with her at her table while she went over wedding details.

"Daphne Greengrass? Why do you ask?" Hermione asked as she worked on seating arrangements. "Did she do something? Are you investigating her?" Hermione asked eyeing him a bit.

"No, I'm just…I don't know I keep seeing things about her sister getting married and I know she was in our year but that's all I know about her," Harry lied. He didn't like doing it, but he wasn't really sure where things were going with Daphne and ever since the break-up, Hermione seemed gung-ho to set him up or get him in a new relationship and he wasn't ready to open that can of worms quite yet.

Hermione pursed her lips and thought over everything that she knew and only gave a shrug. "Not much really. She was in Slytherin and given how things were I didn't really talk to her or know anyone who did. She was never top in grades, I'd have known about her then. Uhhh…" Hermione trailed off honestly trying to think of what she might know.

"That might be it. I'd say ask Ron, but he was as dense as you when it came to making friends in other houses. Wait, I remember Pansy saying one time she couldn't believe Daphne actually got into Slytherin while she was with…Draco maybe? Not sure but that's about it. I remember her there, but it was like she was always in the background. I don't think she ever directly taunted me," Hermione said her mind fully emptied of any information.

Harry nodded at her. That was about all he could remember minus Pansy saying anything.

"I assume she'll be at Malfoy's wedding or you can track her down if you're looking to talk with her," Hermione added sipping on some tea.

"I'm not that interested, I just find it interesting that her younger sister is in the spotlight. I'd think that most old families would favor the eldest child," he said trying to make it sound like he was more interested in a mystery rather than Daphne.

"A hair strange but she might not like the spotlight. I haven't heard of many old families that prefer doing that. Not like her family was really about blood purity, at least as much as other families," Hermione said.

"Yeah, just trying to learn more about them since well the whole Lord Black thing," Harry sighed. He didn't like bringing that up. He liked keeping it as quiet as possible but thanks to Sirius and the Black Family being basically gone the mantle had to go to someone and the goblins had determined it was him. He didn't even know that he had any Black blood in him but a look at his family tree showed the connection and he had to take up the mantle.

That meant that he had to deal with Draco a lot more then he'd like. They were technically family and he had to vaguely care about him and his life. Not that it really mattered, he had read about the engagement in the paper and he was fine with that. He hadn't cared what pretty witch Draco was going to marry but he had happened to meet Daphne and it suddenly mattered.

"I can see it but even then, you'll only be vaguely related to them. If you really care, try talking to Astoria. I know that she's sweet, for a Slytherin," Hermione added in.

Harry nodded but had no plans on doing so. Going and talking with her sister to learn more would backfire, horribly. "Oh well, just wanted to see if you knew anything at all about her. Bit mysterious if you ask me," Harry said.

"I suppose so, but some people are private Harry. Not like you or I try get our face in the paper every day. It happens but not like we want it. She's probably just private," Hermione said looking at him as if she was trying to work out a puzzle before giving up on it.

"So…do you have any idea who you're bringing to the wedding?" Hermione asked, and Harry just shook his head. He was dense, but he wasn't dense enough to fall for that tactic.

"As of now, just me but if that changes I'll let you know," he promised.

"Alright," Hermione said deciding not to press him anymore. They spent a few more hours chatting about the wedding and other things. It was just terrible trying to get her parents and his parents to work it out. Molly would have preferred something more magical but Hermione, while her family wasn't big, they were muggles so they had to work that out. Magical guests would have to be on their best behavior which was leading to some awkwardness.

The had eventually settled on a wedding near a muggle location and the Burrow would house the reception which was the best they were going to do unless they wanted a muggle and wizarding ceremony which would make everyone's heads spin. Harry envied his friends in some ways. Yes, this was annoying to deal with but at least they had family that cared.

After leaving Hermione's and apparating back to his place he wondered if maybe he should consider taking Daphne with him. The wedding was still some months away and there was no promise that he'd even be seeing her then. He was thinking about it though. He'd just have to see where they were.

Thinking of her made him want to see if she wanted to do something tonight. Nothing too crazy, maybe just a bit of coffee. He dialed her number and waited as it rung.

"Hello?" Daphne croaked out.

"Oh, sorry. Did I wake you?" Harry asked checking the time. No reason she should be asleep, but it sounded like she had been.

"No no…I'm just feeling sick today," Daphne said. He heard a bit of shuffling in the background.

"I'm sorry, I thought about meeting up for coffee or something…" he said. "But if you're feeling ill," he said.

"Uh well…ummmm…" Daphne said. "We can…I'm feeling…a bit…I could maybe meet up for tea," she said her breathing heavy.

"Well if you're feeling that bad, we could try meeting up tomorrow. I don't want you to force it," Harry said wanting to let her off the hook.

He heard a relaxing sigh on the other end. "Thank you, I think I should feel better tomorrow. Call me?" she asked.

"Of course, I just hope you feel better. Do you need anything?" Harry asked.

"Well…uhhh…I don't know you don't have to," she said her voice sounding small.

"It's really nothing if you need something," he said.

"Well thank you Harry but I'll be fine. I'll call you tomorrow," she said sounding better than when she had answered the phone.

"Great, goodbye," he said hanging up the phone. There went his plans for the evening. A pity, after talking to Hermione he had really wanted to see her. He decided to check in with Ron or Neville to see if they were busy.

It turned out they were, Ron had picked up a shift since he'd be taking some time off for his honeymoon. He decided to floo call Neville only to find out he was getting ready for a date with Hannah.

"You can come along if you like, we're not doing anything really…" Neville started, and Harry just shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. You two have a lovely night," he said not wanting to butt in on someone else's night besides he wasn't exactly Hannah's biggest fan. He was happy she made Neville happy but remembering his treatment over the years by Hufflepuff's he still was a little wary.

That left him alone for the evening, he opened up some books and started to go over spells. That lasted about half an hour before he found himself utterly bored. He had really been hoping Daphne was free. A little selfish of him, it wasn't like they talked everyday thanks to his job. He needed to change that. He honestly enjoyed talking to her. Nothing he could do about that now, he'd see her tomorrow.

It was still fairly early in the evening. "George should still be in the shop," he said to himself opting for Floo Travel. He didn't care for it but this way he could get into the shop without anyone seeing him.

"Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes!" he said clearly and the world around him to spun as he stepped out of the fireplace, tripping only a bit. He never could quite get it down flawlessly.

"Harry, happy to see you," George said standing up, his desk was covered in paperwork. "I didn't know you were…"

"I didn't either. Just nothing to do at home and I have the night off," he said. "Thought I'd stop by and see how we're doing," Harry said, and George just nodded.

"Things are fine. Have a few new products I'm testing," he said tossing him a bag of candies. "Each different color turns your skin that color. At least it's supposed to. The cherry flavor opts to turn you blue," he said.

"Not bad, mostly harmless," he said, and George nodded.

"Also thinking of selling these," he said tossing a bag of something that looked like mini-hard candies.

"What are they?" Harry asked.

"Mini-dragon eggs. It should provide you with a small pet dragon. Some bloke that works with Charlie made them. They're not real dragon eggs or dragons. Just spell work but even a small dragon could cause problems. There's a Chinese Fireball the size of a small lizard living in the house right now. Angelina just loves it," George laughed.

"At least you're testing them first," Harry said sitting down. "Finances doing well?"

"As well as they can be. Had to hire some more shopkeepers to help out but I just can't keep up with everything," he said.

Harry nodded. "I'd offer more but jokes aren't really my…"

George waved him off. "I know Harry. It was always a two-person job though," he said leaving them in silence. Harry could feel George's mood darken a bit.

"I'm sure you'll find someone. Ron said he's been helping out when he can,"

"He has," George said leaving it at that. "How have you been Harry?" George asked, and Harry shrugged.

"I've been as well as I can be. The job is…not what I expected but there are worse things I could be doing,"

"True, Ron feels the same at times. Listen Harry has Ron talk with you about Ginny at all?" he asked.

"No, why?"

"Ah, well I don't want you to find out through the Prophet but…"

"She's dating again," Harry said feeling a bit of a stab at his heart but not as bad as he thought it would be.

"Yeah, some Keeper from Brazil. I don't know much but…"

Harry waved him off. "It's fine. I don't expect her to stay single forever. It's not like I haven't been on dates," Harry said.

"True, none lately unless you gave the Prophet the slip," George said, and Harry just snorted.

"Hopefully it'll die down one day, and people will get on with their lives," he said debating telling George. Unlike Hermione who would go into interrogation mode George could keep things to himself and wouldn't press.

"Actually, there is someone. I've seen her twice now and I don't really know," Harry said and George while surprised didn't immediately launch into fifty questions.

"You don't know how you feel? Well when you think about her what do you feel, right now," George said.

"I wanted to see her tonight, but she was busy and it's disappointing," Harry said.

"Just see where it goes. I give you credit if you've seen her twice and I haven't read about it. Just take your time and see where it goes, are you worried she's trying to give you the slip?"

"No. There's just something different about her. Like...I can tell she likes me but she's not fawning over me and she's a bit awkward,"

"Same advice applies. Just see where it goes and when it stops making you happy then move onto another one. Merlin knows if you walked out there right now and winked half the grown witches out there would melt," George said.

"True, thanks. I haven't really told anyone else yet because I don't know, and I love Ron and Hermione but…"

"You don't want fifty questions and asking you what this means when it might be nothing," George said patting him on the shoulder.

"Your secret is safe with me. I know how you feel. When I first started getting serious with Angelina I wasn't sure but she…she's a good woman. She saved me when I needed help most after the War. I'm not saying whoever this is has to save you or anything like that. Just don't be afraid," George said and Harry nodded at him.

"Thanks. I needed that. I just wanted to check in with you too. I best let you get back to the books," he said.

Harry had the next day off and ended up sleeping in. There was always the chance he'd get called in but he doubted it would happen. It was a Saturday and Daphne said that she was off, but she also said that she was sick yesterday. How early was too early to call?

It was eleven, Harry felt comfortable with that. Maybe they could meet up for lunch if she felt well enough. He dialed her number.

"Hello?" Daphne answered sounding much perkier then she had yesterday.

"Hey, you're sounding better," Harry said.

"Yeah. Just didn't feel well yesterday. It happens," Daphne said. "Hope you weren't too bored last night,"

"It was fine, I ended up visiting with George. I was wondering if…"

"Yes," she said cutting him off.

Harry chuckled. "You don't know what I was going to say,"

"I had an idea," she defended herself.

"Right, well how about lunch. I could pick you up in an hour?"

"That will work!" she said elated and hung up the phone.

An hour later he made his way to her apartment and knocked on the door. Unlike last time, she was ready to go wearing a casual skirt that stopped at her knee and green blouse. She didn't give him a chance to come inside.

"Hey, lovely to see you again," she said giving him a hug.

"Same to you, so what was wrong yesterday?" he asked as they started to walk.

"Nothing, just didn't feel well," she said. "I'm fine now. Nothing contagious," she said smiling though she still looked a little pale.

"That's good at least," he said. "I was thinking something light. There's a café around or we could try Diagon Alley," he said at least giving her the choice.

"The café would be better. I just…I'm guessing that you can't go 10 feet without the Prophet taking a picture," she said a little annoyed at it.

"Sadly, there are a few places I can Floo to directly, the bank and the joke shop but even then, someone will spot me," Harry said.

They were soon at the lovely café waiting on their tea. Once again taking a seat out of the way so they could talk somewhat freely. Then again, most muggles wouldn't notice or care as long as they didn't get too deep into magic.

"I'm glad you called, I normally don't do too much on weekends," Daphne said playing with her hair a bit, it was down today, and she just played with a strand of it.

"I'm glad you were feeling well and were free," Harry said.

"Yeah, me too. Feels great to get out," she said.

"So…if you don't mind me asking how involved with your sister's wedding are you?" Harry asked.

"Not at all really, I'm invited and a bridesmaid. I'll have to go to another fitting soon but that's about it. Why?" Daphne asked eyeing him suspiciously.

"Curious. Since I'm invited to the wedding too,"

"Ohhhh it's because you're Lord Black and they can't insult any family member," Daphne said giggling at the thought of that.

"Yeah, I don't think it's a big deal, but you know how it goes."

"It'll be a little crazy, I mean everything with it. I think peacocks are going to be involved somehow," Daphne said.

"That…wouldn't surprise me in the slightest," Harry laughed.

"It will be nice to have at least one friendly face there, other than Astoria but she doesn't really count since she's busy the whole day,"

"Yeah…when is that coming up again?" Harry asked.

"Two months," Daphne said.

"So, before Hermione and Ron by about a month or so," Harry said.

"Yeah…feels weird, doesn't it? I mean I had assumed I'd marry right out of Hogwarts but when that didn't happen it's kind of like…single life here I am," Daphne said sipping on her tea.

"I know how you feel. Not that I want to rush it though now. Given my life up to this point I'm not unhappy to take things a little slower,"

"I can understand that. Just feels weird when your baby sister is the one getting married," she pointed out.

"Makes sense." He said. "Ah well should be interesting. I'm sure half that wedding will want me dead," Harry said.

"Eh more like a quarter. Most of my family was happy to see him gone. Bad for business and I'm pretty sure that all the Malfoy's thought he would kill them eventually. Just watch out for Aunt and Uncles, you'll be fine," she said.

"That's still not comforting," he said.

"Just test the food. No one would be foolish enough to try at a wedding, probably," she said.

They spent the next hour or so talking and Harry found himself more at ease with her. For having grown up in a Manor she wasn't as bratty or snotty as some of the other women he had met. Oddly he found her more down to Earth then Ginny. She just seemed to make him feel lighter and he thought he was having the same sort of influence on her. She was a little less nervous then she had been that first night and seemed to glow more.

"Uhhh do you want to come in for a bit?" Daphne asked after they left the café and he walked her back to her building. She was chewing on her lower lip, obviously not sure if it was the right thing to do.

"That…would be nice," he said mostly wanting to spend more time around her and being totally alone would only help that.

"Great!" she said brightening as they started to make their way up the stairs.

"Oh shit," Daphne hissed as she forced Harry back into the stairwell after they were about to walk into the hallway to her place.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked mentally preparing for some sort of fight.

"My sister is waiting by my door for me. I don't think she saw me. Shit, shit, shit," Daphne said clearly not in the mood to deal with Astoria.

"And that's bad because?" Harry asked.

"I just…don't feel like seeing her right now and explaining everything," Daphne said taking deep breaths and playing with her hair furiously.

"Are you embarrassed…" Harry asked trying not to get worked up.

"No, it's not that. It's just well I mean there would be a million questions. You're Harry Bloody Potter and I don't…I can't deal with them right now," she said panicking a bit.

Harry looked around. "Want to go to my place?" he asked.

"Please," she said grabbing onto him and the apparated right into his living room. Daphne immediately calmed down.

"Thanks, I do…I'm not ashamed or anything. I want to spend time with you, but it's just how do I explain it. I suppose you don't know what that's like," she said.

"I have an idea," Harry said. "Anyway, let's put that out of our minds for right now. Just the two of us for today?"

"Just the two of us," Daphne said smiling and once again relaxing. "So…do I at least get to know how exactly you were able to make my future brother in-law look like a fool so much first year? He was so sure you'd get detention for a month thanks to that fake duel. Do you REALLY have an invisibility cloak?" she asked.

Harry smirked a bit. It was cute when she babbled and while he wasn't ready to give up all his secrets, he felt this was one that he didn't mind. "You swear to tell no one?" he asked.

"I swear. I'm good at keeping secrets," she said making a zipping motion over her lips.

"Okay well the truth is…" he started finding it easier to open up and for the first time since Ginny, truly relaxing around a woman he was interested in.

 **Please Review**


	4. The Malfoy Wedding

**A/N: Once again thank you for all the reviews, I do love them good and bad. This story is being uploaded a bit faster than I had first expected. Part of this is because of my schedule. That is going to change next week. So, don't expect daily or even every other day updates like I've been doing. I do have a complete version of where this story is going so that'll help but it will still be slower.**

 **Chapter 4**

"We don't have to do this you know," Daphne said relaxing on Harry's couch, her feet up on the table.

"I disagree, I don't think there's any way that we can't. I'm already going to be in enough trouble when I sit down with you and ruin the table settings," Harry said.

"We could just pretend we're not a couple," she pouted.

"Ah yes, I can see how well that will go tomorrow. Lying always works," he said rolling his eyes and making her laugh.

The last two months had been a whirlwind for both of them. A few more dates had led the two of them to determine that they did work as a couple. They just hadn't told anyone close to them. Both had their reasons, but they were having so much fun away from prying eyes that it felt easier not to say.

"Is it smart to do at this wedding though?" she asked. "My parents will be there, and I really just don't want to deal with it," she said grabbing a pillow and placing it over her face.

Harry shrugged and chuckled. "They're going to find out eventually. Is this optimal? I don't know. We procrastinated on it and it's either pretend to not know each other or let people know," he said finding her once again cute, but he did have to wonder what her parents were like to have caused her this much stress over just seeing them and coming out with their relationship.

Daphne bit her low lip and nodded. They had talked about going to Diagon Alley and just walking many times but both of them had cold feet. It was just nice not to worry about what anyone else thought. "I know. I guess people have to find out eventually and no one is going to really say anything at a wedding," she said. "The fallout will suck," she said sounding a little sad.

"Yeah but they had to find out sooner or later. Beside I don't think Rita or any one at the Prophet is smart enough to work out anything muggle. We'll be fine," he said not quite believing his words but he wanted to be strong for her sake.

"Agreed, you won't see me until after the ceremony though," she said.

"Well you'll be the prettiest bridesmaid," Harry said kissing her.

"You're making me blush," Daphne said hanging her head. She didn't quite believe Harry when it came to all these compliments but she'd never stop him from saying them. "So, I'll just meet you at the wedding tomorrow?" she asked.

"Unless you want me to come along with you," Harry said.

"I don't think you should. I have to be there early since I'm part of the wedding and do you really want to spend three hours just hanging around Malfoy Manor?" she asked.

"You'll be okay on your own?" he asked.

"Of course, it's just my family, my sisters' friends, and Narcissa," Daphne shrugged.

"Okay, as long as you're sure," Harry said. Showing up early and having nothing to do would be bad.

"We should get to sleep, tomorrow is going to be a long day," Daphne sighed grabbing her purse.

"You know you can stay one of these nights," Harry said.

"I know and soon," she said looking down and playing with the fabric of her blouse. "Just a bit more time, please," she said almost begging.

"Of course, we don't have to do anything either. I'm just saying you can spend the night when you want,"

"Thank you and soon," she said kissing him and apparating back to her apartment to mentally prepare for the hell that was her family tomorrow.

That night Astoria was talking to her mother finishing up a few things. "Do you think Daphne really found a date?" Astoria asked.

"I don't know dear," Emilia said looking over the table settings smiling sadly.

"I just don't want people wondering if there's an empty spot at the table," Astoria said.

"How's she seemed lately?"

"I think she's avoiding me. I've caught her once, but she does seem to be in a good mood lately," Astoria said relaxing a bit and smiling.

"That's good, so she'll show tomorrow," Emilia said.

"She was always going to show, mother," Astoria said.

"You know how she is dear,"

"I know but it's my wedding," Astoria said trying to have faith.

"Let's get you to bed. We can worry about this tomorrow," Emilia said hoping her other daughter would show up.

And show up Daphne did the next day. She didn't really want to be here. Laying around in her bed seemed like a much more appealing option but it was Astoria's wedding and she was going to show up, smile, and hope this wouldn't turn into a bad day.

She walked into the manor to see her mother working on some last-minute arrangements.

"You came," Emilia said relieved and hugged her daughter.

"I wouldn't miss it," Daphne said.

"I know but you know how you are," Emilia said fussing around with Daphne's hair.

"Where is she?" Daphne said trying to squirm away from her mother's grasp.

"Upstairs. Cassandra and Isabelle are already here. We're just waiting on you and Elsa," Emilia said.

"Great," she said moving away and heading upstairs.

"Just go up the stars and it's the fourth door on the right!" Emilia shouted and watched her daughter walk off. "Please, please let it be a good day," she said to herself.

Daphne took a deep breath before entering the room. Astoria was working on her make-up along with her friends.

"You came," Astoria smiled relieved.

"Why is everyone shocked by that?" Daphne asked sitting down to start on hers. Not that it really mattered but she did want to try and look nice.

"You've just been living under a rock," Astoria said eyeing her friends. They had been told repeatedly not to harass Daphne about her life. They seemed to be obeying, though they were listening intently.

Daphne shrugged. "I've just been busy, and I still made it to all the dress fittings," she said uncomfortably. She wasn't looking forward to putting that dress on today. It was bad enough being compared to Astoria but being compared her sister and her friends was something she was dreading.

"Was mom on you about dieting because…" Astoria started.

"No, it's fine. I don't…look it's your wedding let's not do this," Daphne said. Astoria just nodded at her.

"I think the dress will look great on you," she said.

"Thank you," Daphne said.

"So…who is this plus one that you're bringing to the wedding?" Astoria asked causing her friends to giggle and Daphne to blush.

"You'll find out soon enough. He wanted to come along but I don't think he'd like doing hair, make-up, and being gaggled at by you," Daphne said.

"You're acting so mysterious about him. Is that why you've been avoiding me?"

"No, I just don't want all of my business to be your business,"

"You know that's impossible," Astoria teased.

Daphne giggled. "True, but you'll meet him today and I'm sure you'll love him,"

Astoria and her friends looked at each other not sure what to expect but not wanting to offend Daphne they just continued getting ready.

Elsa eventually walked in and the girls were joined by Emilia and Narcissa as well as they got ready. The whole thing made Daphne a bit uncomfortable. The space wasn't overly tight but she knew that she was on people's minds. Astoria had made that fact almost abundantly clear.

The Malfoy house elves popped in every now and again to announce when someone had arrived and if they were important enough either Emilia or Narcissa would head down to greet them. Daphne mostly ignored them until she heard a familiar name.

"Lord Potter and Black has arrived,"

"Thank you Minny," Narcissa said getting up.

"Do you need my help with this?" Emilia asked.

"No, the Lord doesn't like a fuss made. I should out of politeness. You'll have to talk to him later. I'm sure there will be time," Narcissa said leaving the room.

"I'm surprised her showed up," Astoria said.

"Why?" Daphne asked.

"A pureblood wedding doesn't really seem like his idea of a good time," Astoria explained.

"Well he only seemed to have issues after Draco taunted him, called his friend mudblood, and a supremacist wanted him dead,"

Astoria looked at her sister and her left eye twitched a bit as everyone else in the room was silent.

"Sorry," Daphne mumbled hanging her head.

"It's true, Draco has some rough edges, but he's grown. He is also aware that he is not to say that word anymore. You are right though. Lord Potter has his reasons," Astoria said.

"Just be polite. From what Narcissa has told me he's not one to pick fights. Just be careful. You don't know what someone else might have said to him," Emilia said.

"Did he bring a date with him?" Cassandra asked. Much like Astoria, she was stunningly beautiful and it made Daphne nervous the way the blonde seemed interested in Harry.

"No, he said he was coming alone," Emilia said.

"Interesting," Cassandra said her mind working.

"You really want to be with the Golden Boy?" Elsa asked.

"Why not? I mean he is a Lord," Cassandra said and Daphne started to feel more nervous. She started to shift in her seat and played with her dress fabric.

"You could do worse, but I wouldn't fawn over the title or his money. I read that's why the Weasley girl lost him and half his other dates don't get past the first," Astoria sounding bored with this topic.

"Yes, let's move on," Daphne said closing her eyes and trying to control her breathing. Harry wasn't going to leave her just because some leggy blonde tart would make doe eyes at him. He got that all the time, right?

Meanwhile downstairs Harry was doing his best to deal with everyone. Everyone seemed to have enough manners not to bother him for anything, but he was still getting looks and dealing with stuffy purebloods wasn't high on his list of fun. He almost wished that he was at work, almost.

He should have just shown up right before. People wouldn't have noticed if he was but he showed up a bit early on the off-chance Daphne could sneak away but that didn't seem like it was going to happen. So instead he was cooling his heels until the ceremony actually started.

Luckily, most people seemed more than happy to just gawk at him and not actually talk to him other than a few polite hellos. He noticed that Lucius seemed to be avoiding him like the plague. That was fair, though the Malfoys had worked out a deal to avoid Azkaban there was still enough awkwardness between him and the family that he wouldn't mind not speaking with him ever again.

The ceremony started a little while later and Harry stayed in the back just watching and trying to enjoy it. Seeing Astoria walk down the aisle he couldn't help but notice that she seemed even prettier in person. Along with all of her friends and he couldn't help but notice that Daphne did seem like the odd one out in the group.

It wasn't really fair. Astoria and every other woman in the wedding seemed to be overly gifted genetically. Harry could now understand where a bit of her insecurity came from. Hermione had a bit of it herself. Harry wouldn't call her ugly, or Daphne but when compared to the Bride and others standing up there, the contrast was sharp.

Harry didn't particularly care that his girlfriend didn't look like a model. There was something alluring about Daphne that wasn't really on the surface. She could be funny and witty and yes while she was a bit awkward at times he didn't really care about that. There was a general sweetness to her. That had been part of the reason he had been attracted to Ginny, at first. She had been very sweet to him over the years and while she did have a temper the sweetness outweighed that, until they were near the end.

The ceremony was overly long for Harry's tastes. Not bad but when you're only here because you have to be and for a bridesmaid he couldn't say he was really interested in hearing Draco and Astoria's love story, sweet as it was.

When it was over Harry went to get a drink as people filtered into the reception area in the manor. He had thought about the best way to do this last night and thought it was best not to make a big deal. He hadn't been with Daphne too long and he knew how easily she got embarrassed about certain things. Natural, yes that was the way to go about this.

He had hoped that she'd sit down by herself first instead she had filtered in with the rest of the wedding party and took her seat at the family table. He took a deep breath, no time like the present.

"Daphne, you look amazing. Astoria, Draco congratulations are in order," he said casually sitting down and giving Daphne a kiss much to the shock of the table. It wasn't a large table, just the happy couple, their parents, and him and Daphne. A few other tables had taken notice of the situation though.

Everyone just sort of looked at each other as Harry sat down and wrapped his arm around Daphne. Astoria's left eye twitched a bit as she tried to process it. Draco was the first to recover.

"Thank you Potter. I…wasn't aware you were Daphne's date," he said as Cassandra had noticed and was starting to whisper with the other bridesmaids.

For her part Daphne tried to stay focused, this had been a long day and it would all be over soon. A blush still crept to her cheeks and laying up against Harry like this did help keep her calm. It was how she was getting through the day, just one step at a time.

"Yes, you failed to mention that Daphne," Emilia said looking over her daughter who was shrinking at the moment.

Daphne just shrugged. "Harry and I prefer privacy. No way to do it today though," she mumbled.

"Well it is an honor to have you at this table," Narcissa said trying to play the perfect hostess. She had met the eldest Greengrass girl a few times over the years and had found her to be a nervous mess. It was obvious why Draco had preferred Astoria, but she wasn't going to say anything to insult him.

Lucius picked up on that as well finding it strange, still Harry Potter was a strange man. "Yes, so glad you could make it," he said cursing whoever brought them together. He preferred to avoid Potter as much as possible and now he was trapped at a table. Brilliant, simply brilliant.

Daphne's father, Cyrus, looked Harry over and nodded politely. "It is wonderful to meet you," he said a little coldly. His mind was going to work what this meant for the family. He didn't for one second think that they would last but having publicly dated Harry Potter would be good for Daphne's future dating prospects.

Emilia and Astoria just looked at each other, the both of them looking like they wanted to say something, but some relatives came over at that very moment, so they kept smiles plastered on their faces. Both cursing the way this had been done to them.

"I wasn't aware you two knew each other," Astoria said once the relatives had left.

"I met Harry when he was out one night," Daphne said. "He didn't remember me from school. At least mostly,"

"I kind of remembered you from potions and you were glancing at me all night," Harry pointed out.

"You actually went out?" Astoria asked sounding very surprised.

"You're always telling me that I need to get out more," she shrugged and started picking at her appetizer.

"True, I'm just surprised. I had thought…" Astoria said trailing off not wanting to insult anyone as Harry looked at her.

"It's just interesting we mean. I suppose all of us just thought that with Daphne living the way that she does it would be harder to meet a wizard," Emilia said.

Harry wasn't sure if these were meant to be veiled insults or not. He noticed that they all seemed to be looking at Daphne like she had grown a second head. He wasn't totally sure why either. Sure, Daphne could be a bit awkward, but he couldn't have been the first boy she had introduced to her family.

"Yeah well…things happen and I'm happy I gave him my number," Daphne said.

"You did?" Astoria asked very shocked.

"It's Harry Potter, no offense dear, but if I didn't at least try it I think everyone would have said I'm crazy. You do now anyway," she mumbled the end of it, so Harry couldn't quite hear it. He wanted to ask her what that meant but later, not around family.

Meanwhile Cassandra and the other bridesmaids were just looking at the family table and were shaking their heads in frustration.

"Daphne? Daphne Greengrass. How?" Cassandra asked.

"No clue," Isabelle said frowning a bit as well.

"It can't be money, he has money. Loads of it," Elsa said.

"Certainly not looks," Isabelle said.

"Love potion?" Cassandra asked, and the others shrugged.

"Possible but it is Harry Potter. You read how he shook off the Imperius Curse from well you know. I don't think Daphne would have the ability or power to do it. Astoria also said she lives mostly in the muggle world, so I don't think she's brewing potions in her free time," Elsa said looking down herself. She had hoped to get some time in with him but that wasn't going to happen today.

"Should we…" Cassandra started, and her friends scoffed.

"You want to deal with a furious Astoria? Leave Daphne alone. It'll fizzle out once it hits the Prophet," Elsa said hopefully.

The rest of the evening went well, if a little tense, people continued to come over to congratulate the happy couple. Most just gave Harry and Daphne a look before moving onward. The conversation at the table had thankfully turned away from Daphne and Harry after a few more questions about their relationship. Astoria wanted to know more but didn't want to press on her sister too hard.

The night ended up going exceptionally well all things considered. He didn't miss the looks that Astoria gave her sister and people who came up and looked at them. He'd have to talk with her later, something seemed a bit odd about it. No reason to make a scene at a wedding, however.

When the dancing had started Harry looked at Daphne.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked.

"No, I'm perfectly fine," she said keeping herself planted. She had gotten enough of a spotlight on her today and she wasn't about to go out there.

Harry was a bit disappointed but said nothing and spent most of the evening just chatting with her and the occasional person who came up. Always suspicious that they were just looking for something to sell to the Prophet.

"I'm tired," Daphne said resting her head on his shoulder, it was getting late. It had been a long day.

"You should get her home," Emilia said showing genuine concern for her eldest.

"Yes, we don't want a repeat of cousin Aurora's Wedding," Cyrus said causing Daphne to blush and earned him a look from his wife.

Harry found the entire dynamic odd. Daphne had been nervous coming into this day and while her parents weren't the warmest people, they weren't unkind. Daphne hadn't talked about her family much, so he just assumed they were monsters but the conversation while awkward at times and a bit like an interrogation at other points, had been fine. He didn't understand what was going on and it was bugging him. He could feel Daphne's leg bouncing nervously against his, he wasn't going to find out tonight, that was certain.

"Thank you for having me and well us, do you need anything Daphne?" Harry asked.

Daphne shook her head, a smile appearing on her face. "Nope, it was nice to see you," she said walking up and hugging her parents and then going to say good-bye to her sister as well.

Once that was all said and done they walked to the apparition point and popped back to Harry's.

"That was horrible," Daphne said collapsing on the couch as the stress of the day started to overtake her.

"I don't know, your parents weren't horrible, and no one cursed anyone," Harry said a bit concerned as he went and started to massage her shoulders.

"Everyone was looking at us," she said.

"Part of the deal with me. It's not fun," Harry said.

"I know I just…didn't…like I know what you went through on a certain level but it's like…"

"It's different when you're sure they're looking at you and wondering things," Harry said.

Daphne nodded. "I mean I've had that before at my birthday parties, but it felt different tonight,"

"Give it a week or two, the Prophet will do a write-up then ignore it when some half-veela, half-mermaid convinces the reserve keeper from Ireland to throw the Quidditch World Cup," he said.

"Is that even possible?" Daphne asked.

"I'll have to write Hagrid to see," he said. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Do you want to…" Harry started.

"No, not tonight," she said shaking her head. "Soon. I just…need to be alone and de-stress for a bit," she said kissing him. "I had a lovely time and you were great with my parents and sister," she said.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow?" Harry asked.

"Count on it, when do you work?"

"I don't. I was smart for once and was able to arrange my days off back to back for this. Just in case I have to deal with the Prophet,"

"Then I'll see you tomorrow," she said kissing him and leaving him alone. He shook his head and poured himself a drink. "Could have been worse, Harry. Could have been a lot worse,"

While Harry and Daphne were starting to relax, Draco's own stress was only just beginning.

"Harry fucking Potter. Harry…I just…UGH!" Astoria screamed as she started to remove her jewelry.

"I'll admit. That it doesn't seem like a match or even make sense," he said wondering how it was possible that Potter might have ruined his wedding night.

"How did…she went out. To a bar. Alone. Doesn't she realize just how stupid that is?!"

"You've been telling her she needs to get out more," Draco pointed out earning him a glare.

"That's not the point! It's just…out of everyone. When she said she was bringing someone I had thought some clerk she met or even a muggle. Sure, we'd have had to wipe his mind but that would at least make sense," she said.

"Astoria, your sister is a big girl and she can take care of herself," he said.

"You know that's not true,"

"True. I can't believe I'm about to do this by the way and you have to promise not to hold this against me ever,"

"What?" she asked placing her hands on her hips.

"Maybe, it's not the worst thing in the world. You said yourself how happier she seemed lately and how you haven't had to worry as much," she said moving to rub her shoulders.

"That is true,"

"Look, I know a lot about Potter. He's…I don't like him for many reasons. He is Lord Black. He is Lord Potter. Do you really want to go up against a Lord for no reason? Did you ever hear about him taking advantage of anyone in school?"

"No. He had a lot of issues but the only bad thing I heard from girls was how the Patil twins had their Yule Ball ruined by him and Weasley,"

"There you go. I hate defending him, but I don't think he'd do anything to harm your sister," Draco said.

Astoria stayed silent for a few minutes thinking over what her husband had said. "Fine," she said sharply. "We are visiting him after the honeymoon and talking with him one on one," she said. "If they're still dating," she added. It was a month-long honeymoon after all.

"And you won't worry about her?" Draco asked.

"No, I'll have mom check in. She's been so happy lately that I should just let it go," she said.

"Thank you, now let's stop worrying about other people. It's our wedding night," Draco said coming up behind her and sucking on her neck.

"Ohhh Draco!" she squealed and let all worries about her sister and Potter leave her.

In her own apartment Daphne had drawn herself a nice hot bath and closed her eyes. "Tomorrow is going to suck," she said. A late breaking edition of the Prophet had been delivered to her already and on the front page was a picture of her with Harry.

 _POTTER AND A PUREBLOOD PRINCESS?!_

She had to give them credit, they worked fast. She hadn't read the article yet and she didn't want to. She sunk lower into the tub. At least they had opted for a flattering photo or her. She didn't look too bad even in her mind. Yes, tomorrow going to be long.

 **Please Review**


	5. The Reactions

**A/N: Once again thank you for all the reviews. Two points really quick.**

 **A guest reviewer commented asking if there was anyone I had in mind when I pictured Daphne. I don't really have anyone famous or noteworthy in mind when thinking of her. Part of that is because as I've said, she's supposed to be a Plain Jane with her looks. If you think of an average blonde with blue eyes, there you go.**

 **This will also be the last of my fast updates for the story. I've been moving quick on publishing and writing this. Partly because I've had the time to write. I'm starting a new job this week and my time to write is going to drastically decrease. Still expect updates just not at this current speed. I do have it planned out. It will just be finding the time.**

 **Chapter 5**

Harry had seen the Prophet before he went to bed as well. He wasn't overly impressed with what they had. They had actually gotten Daphne's name right, likely because she was a Pureblood. In fact, the entire thing was far more tempered then he had expected. Mostly it was people talking about the shock of seeing Harry with her. There were vague references to her not being a model, because the Chosen One, Boy-Who-Lived, Man-Who-Conquered could apparently only date models or other so-called perfect witches.

He did love the one bit where an anonymous woman implied that Harry might have lost a bet with Draco or he was doing Daphne a favor. Because that was the only way he could be seen with someone like Daphne. That did bother him. He knew that this would come up and frankly he didn't understand it. It wasn't like Daphne was a bad looking witch. She was just more near the average and she still looked good in his mind. People just liked to overplay it.

He went to sleep mildly annoyed with everything. At least, everything seemed to be mild this time around. It was nothing more than normal gossip rags and he could deal with that.

What he wasn't prepared for was the next morning. He had only just woken up when a bushy haired brunette and her husband to be both appeared out of the fireplace, Hermione holding a paper in her hand and not looking at all pleased.

"Harry James Potter! You were just interested in Daphne Greengrass for no reason?" she asked glaring at him and crossing her arms.

"Morning Hermione, would you like tea or coffee?" Harry asked smiling which only served to make her a bit more worked up.

"I knew something was up. Didn't I tell you Ron?" she asked Ron who seemed more amused by the whole thing.

"You did but as I told you. Harry just seemed happier, he just wasn't saying anything," Ron said pouring himself some tea.

"Why didn't you tell us you were seeing someone new? Is this why you didn't care about Ginny? And I knew you were going to the Malfoy Wedding, but you were going with her? Was that why you weren't trying to find a date?" Hermione said making both men's heads spin with the amount of questions.

"Hermione, breathe. Just breathe and I'll explain everything," he said trying to calm her down.

She huffed a bit but did quiet down, so he'd have a chance to explain.

"Yes, I met Daphne a few months ago in a pub. She is my girlfriend now. As for why I didn't say anything. She didn't either. You know how my life can be and it was nice just to be able to not have to deal with anything. Not that I think you'd say anything, it was just, nice not to have something public," Harry said.

Hermione bit her lower lip, she was still a little miffed. Ron seemed to understand fully and nodded at him.

"Ginny, I don't…she can do what she wants. We're not dating anymore. Besides I've gone on other dates. We're over and it's fine. The wedding was somewhat planned. We wanted a situation where no one would throw a fit or make a scene. Her parents are far too proper to do anything like that. It just worked out that way," Harry said.

Hermione nodded at that. "I suppose that makes sense but really Harry. I'm happy for you. I just don't know why you felt the need to hide something like this from us," she said sitting down and pouring herself tea.

"The day I asked you I honestly didn't know how much I liked her. We had gone out on one date and it was only okay. She was sweet enough, if a bit star struck," Harry said.

"Can't say I blame her," Ron said.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"I just mean you are Harry Potter. I was star struck the first time I met you and I had only ever read the stories when I was a kid," Ron said. "Can't imagine what it must have felt like for her given how she is,"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked sharply.

"Just that she seems to want to shrink into the ground. We went to school with her for six years and even after spending all this time with her. Do you remember anything about her from school? Because all I remember was thinking she had an interesting name during the sorting and that's it,"

"She does have, issues at times," Harry admitted.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"She can be a ball of anxiety. Kind of like you were during the end of the year tests," Harry said. Hermione didn't love the comparison but didn't fight him on it.

"What were her parents like?" Hermione asked.

"They were fine. It was weird though. They treated her like she was glass. Even her sister did that. I'm not sure she liked me," Harry said.

"Odd, might be a pureblood thing?" Hermione thought aloud.

"No clue, I could ask dad about them, but I don't think he'd know anything either. The family is private or was private until the wedding,"

"I know, I may have looked for files on them," Harry said.

"Harry!" Hermione chided.

"What? She was Slytherin and I wanted to be sure. No Death Eater activity minus doing some business with the Notts a few years back and even that was nothing illegal," he said.

"I'm sure she'll appreciate you considering her family," Hermione said.

"I just had to be sure," Harry said.

"So, what's she like? We need to get together sometime. I know I've been busy with the wedding, but I can make time for this," Hermione said.

"She's…sweet. I can't really describe it. She's quirky and she's easy to open up to. She has a muggle job," he said.

"Really? I wouldn't think that someone of her family stature…" Hermione said.

"Yes, well apparently when they tried to marry her off people preferred her sister," Harry said not happy about that.

"I mean…I see it," Ron said densely causing both Harry and Hermione to glare at him.

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" Hermione asked.

"I just mean that Harry has said she can be quirky. Something that a bloke like Malfoy would hate. Her sister is also more…stereotypically beautiful then she is," he said causing deeper glares.

"Ronald Weasley," Hermione said.

"What? I'm sorry but it's true. Daphne looks nice. She looked great in those photos, but her sister is like a model," Ron said trying to pick his words carefully and not make this worse.

"Yeah, she's not a model sort. It doesn't matter though. I think she looks amazing all the time even if she doesn't believe it," Harry said.

"I know the feeling," Hermione said thinking of her old buck teeth.

"That's all I'm saying. It's a bad situation since if she didn't have a sister it wouldn't matter but here we are," Ron said.

Hermione seemed to have other thoughts on it but held her tongue. "At any rate, you must work out a time where you two can come over,"

"I'll ask her, but it can only be us," Harry said.

"That's fine. I just would like to get to know her if she's that important to you," Hermione said.

"And I'm glad. We just needed some time to not worry about things. We're ready now. Pretty sure. I'm going to see her later today," Harry said.

"Lovely, and next time tell me about something like this. I care and could have helped," Hermione pouted.

Harry just laughed. "I appreciate it but I'm a big boy. Besides it's time I do something that makes me happy," he said.

Ron nodded at that and looked pensive but didn't say anything. Hermione sighed but accepted it.

"And I'm glad. I'm sorry. I just care about you and I don't like not being asked things directly," she huffed.

"I'll remember that in the future," Harry chuckled shaking his head at her. Just then an owl flew in and landed in front of Harry. He read the letter and smiled.

"Oh good, Andromeda is back with Teddy," he said.

"Great, where were they?" Hermione asked.

"Andromeda took him to France for a bit. Said they needed a bit of a holiday. Can't say I blame here. He'll be starting school soon and it'll be the last time they'll be able to really relax," he said deciding that he needed to pop over there sometime today.

"Might want to ask her if she knows anything about the Greengrass'" Hermione suggested.

"She might, not really close to Narcissa but she'd have some knowledge of them," he said.

"Great! Just talk with Daphne and we'll try to work out a time. I want to meet her," Hermione said.

"Same, sorry to cut and run but I've got to get to work," he sighed running his hands through his hair.

"Have fun, I took the day off to deal with all this mess," Harry said.

"You really thought it'd be that bad?" Hermione asked.

"It's 7 in the morning and you and Ron came barging in here," Harry pointed out making Hermione blush.

"We were just shocked," she said.

"I'll talk to you later, Harry. I need to get into the office. I do need to talk to you later though. In private, nothing with Daphne," Ron said.

"Sure, everything okay?" Harry asked. Hermione looked at her fiancé unsure as well.

"Yeah, yeah just something on my mind I just need to talk out," Ron said moving towards the fireplace and heading into work.

"What was that about?" Harry asked after he left.

"I don't know. He's been so up and down lately. I thought it was the stress of the wedding at first but now I'm not so sure," Hermione said. "I think he's just working too much. I know he needs time off for the honeymoon, but he's been working himself crazy. I swear it's like he doesn't like work,"

Harry just nodded, not wanting to admit that he felt the same thing. "I'm sure it'll all work out. I'll talk with him this week. He's probably just stressed,"

"Yeah, we're fine together. No problems. He says I'm the best part of his day. I don't know. It's probably just stress," Hermione said. "Well I should get going. I'm sorry for barging in but seriously, Daphne Greengrass? I'm just…I never thought you'd date a Slytherin,"

"I didn't either but she's not like Draco. She's…she has ambition. I know that. She talks about getting promoted and rising in the world but it's not in a creepy way," he said.

"What if her persona is an act to lull you into a false sense of security?" Hermione asked.

Harry froze.

Hermione broke out laughing. "I'm sorry. I just…I had to say it. I highly doubt that she's doing that. Even the proudest and more devious Slytherin isn't living in the muggle world. Then going through that wedding nonsense," she said.

"Don't do that, you know how my life is," Harry said.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. I'm sure she's lovely and I can't wait to really meet her," Hermione said. "I'll leave you be, what are you doing today?" she asked.

"I'll check in on Daphne soon. Then Andromeda and Teddy," he said looking at the owl. "Let me see when I can go over there," he said quickly writing a note and sent it off.

"You really need to buy a new owl. I'll buy you one," Hermione offered.

Harry sat there and thought about it. He didn't shout out no like her normally did. It would be good to have one. Yes, he could call Daphne and Andromeda had a phone she liked to use too but she mostly used owl.

Hermione took his silence as a good sign. "Just please think about it. I know you don't need one like it's the most important thing in the world. It would still be good to have one. You are a Lord," she said.

"Maybe, we can go looking next week," he said sighing. Hermione just smiled and hugged him.

"I should get going. Just floo me when you and Daphne can work out a night," she said picking up the paper and looking at it again. "You two do make a lovely couple," she said before leaving.

"Two down, just all of society to go," Harry said stretching a bit re-reading the paper to see if he had missed anything.

It would be about thirty minutes before he received an owl back from Andromeda, saying that he could come over in an hour.

That gave Harry enough time to call Daphne. He didn't get an answer. It was still early in the morning and she seemed exhausted from yesterday. He'd call again after he visited with Andromeda.

An hour later he was showered and popped over to Andromeda's. "Andromeda, I'm here," he said. Just then a screaming toddler with multicolored hair ran into him.

"Uncle Harry!" he shouted.

"Hey Teddy," he said picking the toddler up. "Did you have fun in France?" he asked.

"Yes!" he shouted as Andromeda came down the stairs.

"Harry, glad to see you. I'm guessing there's something you want to talk about," she said holding up her Prophet.

"You saw that didn't you? First things first, how was your trip and Kreacher wasn't a pain?" he asked putting Teddy down.

"The trip was lovely and Kreacher was very polite. Thank you for letting us use him. I sent him back to dust Grimmauld Place. Anyway, did you plan this? Or was it spur of the moment?" she asked.

"We couldn't come up with a better way. I'm surprised they got pictures but then again, it's a wedding," Harry shrugged, and they moved to sit down on the couch, Tedding opting to play with toys instead of focusing on the adults' conversation.

"I wanted to ask you what you know about the Greengrass family, if anything," Harry said.

"I know her father has his own company, mostly selling and buying potion supplies but I'm sure you were aware of that," Andromeda said.

"Yes, I checked through a few old files. He didn't do anything illegal. At least anything obvious," Harry said.

"Good to know. Harry, does Daphne seem strange to you at all?" Andromeda asked.

"I wouldn't call her strange but a little quirky. She gets stressed easy, why?" he asked.

"Because it is unusual for a family like the Greengrass' to just pass over the eldest child," she said.

"I knew that but it's that strange?" Harry asked.

"Very, I don't know everything about her but it's mildly concerning. For some reason they bypassed her right and went to the next child. They didn't disown her?" she asked to confirm.

"No, in fact she said she still has her inheritance. They were polite at the wedding too. A few comments but mostly they seemed tense," he said.

"That's very strange. Does she still live at home?"

"No, she has a muggle apartment and job. She has a TV," he said.

Andromeda raised an eyebrow. "Does it seem like she wants to live like that?"

"Kind of, she mentioned that she didn't want a job in the wizarding world because her sister had passed her," Harry said.

Andromeda pursed her lips and took a moment to think, like she was working out a puzzle. "I can't ever think of a situation like this before. She's not a squib?"

"Nope, she went to Hogwarts with us. Not great grades but she passed classes. No O's though," Harry said.

"Strange. She's not a bad looking girl by any means. I've seen far worse get married off," she said.

"What do you think it means?" Harry asked getting concerned.

"No clue, does she seem odd at all?"

"Just quirky. A bit strange at time and she's anxious but all of our dates have gone well," he said.

"Then I don't know. All I know is that we're missing something. Maybe she had a love affair with a muggle and they didn't want to make a big deal out of it like my family. Could be something simple like that. The Greengrass family may not have been behind Voldemort but don't pretend that blood purity doesn't matter to them,"

Teddy came over and handed Harry a toy to play with, Harry took it and held it in his hand moving it around while thinking about what Andromeda had said.

"What are you thinking about?" Andromeda asked.

"Just thinking about Daphne," he said.

"I'm not saying it's anything bad. I'm not saying you need to go and ask her about it. I'm not saying you need to break-up with her. You're just missing something. I know how pureblood families work and the Greengrass behavior is odd. If they had stood firm, Draco or someone else would have married Daphne," she said rubbing his shoulder.

"Could it be something bad?" Harry asked.

"Likely, no. I'm just giving you my perspective on things. Honestly, if you haven't seen anything bad then it's just fine. For all we know she was more like Sirius and it's a complex family issue. Does she make you happy?" Andromeda asked.

"Yes, it's strange. She's so unlike Ginny or any woman I've met. She's nervous and anxious at time but when she's not she's witty. She's easy to talk to. I haven't shared everything with her, but she makes me want to think about it. She did come onto me," Harry said.

"How so?" Andromeda asked, and Harry proceeded to explain about the night they met. "It sounds like she saw a chance and she took it. I'm not sure she really expected you to call,"

"She didn't, she was surprised when I did," Harry said. "At least, she sounded like it,"

"Doesn't really cry pureblood princess,"

"Part of why I like her,"

"Then just learn more about her. Just don't be surprised if whatever happened between her and her family can't be bridged," Andromeda said as Teddy climbed into her lap.

"After last night I'm not expecting any miracles. Your sisters' family was overly polite," he said.

Andromeda snorted. "I'm not surprised. Your testimony kept them out of Azkaban more than that last second switch did. Plus, with you as Lord Black and Lord Potter it wouldn't be wise to make an enemy out of you,"

"It's still a little strange to think about," Harry said.

"Peace changes things. His family no longer having as much influence changes things,"

"Yeah, well it is what it is now and as long as I'm Lord Black you'll always be part of this family and protected," Harry said.

"And I thank you for it dear," she said moving Teddy back to the ground and hugging Harry.

"Do you know anything else about the Greengrass family? Any rumors?" Harry asked.

"Only that Cyrus is very traditional. I went to school with him. He very likely, always wanted a son but is making due with what he has. Emilia, I didn't know too well. My sister would probably get along with her. Unless Emilia snubbed her," Andromeda said chuckling at the end.

"That's what it seemed like. I don't remember her dad really saying anything. Anyway, I'm going to spend some time with Teddy then I'm going to go and check on Daphne," he said.

"Sounds like a plan," Andromeda said and went to get some tea while Harry spend time with Teddy.

Time flew by and Teddy hadn't wanted Harry to leave but after an hour and a half he thought it time to go and check on Daphne. He thanks Andromeda and made his way to Daphne's apartment. He knocked on the door and waited.

"Who is it?" asked a strained voice from the other side.

"Harry," he said.

A disheveled Daphne opened the door wearing shorts and a tank top. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she looked stressed.

"Thank Morgana you're here," she said hugging him tightly as he looked around the apartment. Every time he had been in it so far it had been pristine. Now there were hundreds of envelopes all over the ground.

"They just keep coming," Daphne whimpered as another few owls flew in and dropped off letters.

"I'm guessing you don't have your mail forwarded at all," he said.

"I never had any reason to!" Daphne said.

"And you've written the goblins?" he asked.

"Yes, I added that it was an emergency. I have more than enough gold for it. I'm just waiting for it to take effect and for them to send me the bloody box," she said.

Harry nodded understanding. It was a service that Gringotts offered, filtered mail. Anything cursed or any howlers would be weeded out. You could read them of course but now you knew about them. Made it easier to live in muggle areas too.

"Only my family and Tracey write me. I wish I had remembered this last week," she said curling up into a ball on the couch.

"We should have," Harry sighed. "Hermione had the same issue when she dated Krum. Give it a few days and it'll pass," he said. "Many howlers go off?"

"Only two so far but I'm not touching the mail either,"

"Probably smart. You don't know what sort of curses people might place on them," Harry said.

"Yeah, I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to do it," Daphne said. "I'm not the heiress but I'm still the daughter of an important man," she said.

For the first time Harry saw a bit of a princess coming out in her. He grinned, it wasn't totally unpleasant since it was so out of character.

"Your father never set one up for you. Just in case?"

"No, he just taught me never to open unmarked letters. Can't go through life purely paranoid," she said.

"You gonna clean those up?"

"I'm just going to wait until the owls stop coming then I'll clean it up at once. Oh, have you talked to Hermione and Ron yet?" she asked her leg bouncing up and down.

"First thing this morning. I thought Hermione was going to hit me with the paper," he said.

Daphne let out a laugh.

"She's done it before. She basically demanded that we have dinner with them,"

Daphne bit her lower lip and looked at him. "That would be nice," she said after a few moments.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, she didn't look that excited.

"Yes, they're your friends, and we should have dinner with them. When do they want to do it?" she asked.

"Sometime next week should be fine. I can check what days I have off and we can do them then. If that's okay,"

"That will be fine," she said smiling a bit more naturally.

"Great. Then I'll set it up and I'll give you a date. Probably tomorrow," Harry said.

"That'll work. I'll be able to set something up," she said smiling at him.

"Good, and don't worry. Hermione and Ron will love you," he assured her getting close and rubbing her shoulder.

Daphne just sat there thinking and she started to feel the world coming down on her. It had been bad enough that she woke up to all that mail coming into her home. Now she had to go and meet his friends. Not just his friends, his war hero friends. She felt the weight of it hitting her now. She started to bounce her leg a little bit more and she got very quiet.

"Are you okay?" he asked noticing her closing up a bit.

"Yeah…just…it's nothing," she said smiling. "I can't wait for next week," she said forcing a smile.

"That's great, I know they can't wait to meet you either. They had a lot of questions," Harry chuckled

Daphne could feel her pulse quicken. She licked her lips and cuddled up to him. "I'm sure it will be fun," she said forcing a smile.

"You want to go out and do anything today?" he asked noting that she seemed extra stressed.

"Could we just relax and order something? It's just been a long few days," she said remembering the dread of the upcoming wedding, the actual wedding, and now the fallout as two more owls dropped off letters for her.

"That's fine, a lazy day might work out for the best," Harry said wrapping his arm around her. "Thank you for being so understanding about this," he said kissing her.

"It's nothing and really I can't wait for that dinner," she said forcing her smile once again while inside she was a screaming. This was going to be bad, she was sure of it.

 **Please Review**


	6. The Weight of Expectations

**A/N: This chapter got up a bit earlier then I had planned thanks horrible sickness that kept me from working a full day. Hooray! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and thanks to all that reviewed. I've also been holding Daphne back a bit. There is something that is going to last one more chapter. After this one there will be more Daphne and more from her. It's just the way the story needed to be structured.**

 **Chapter 6**

They had settled on next Wednesday for dinner which gave Daphne about a week and a half to get herself ready. Harry had assumed that was all she needed, a few days to cool down. He could make sure she was nice and relaxed. He was sure they'd have a good dinner.

Harry had meant to check in with Daphne every day during the week, but he was finding that to be impossible. It ended up being a long week for him at work. First there had been someone trying to smuggle dragon eggs into the country. Harry had been shocked by that, it had taken the entire corps a long time to go through where he had been able to get the fifty dragon eggs.

Then there had been a small scuffle in Diagon Alley that should have only been a small scuffle, but a few spells ended up going into the Owl Emporium and Ollivander's. They caught those who had been dueling but the fallout had meant him putting in long hours.

Harry had tried to call Daphne when he could and had even asked her to get together but as she had said on Friday night.

"It's been a long week for me. I think I just want to take a bath and relax,"

Harry had been disappointed. "Do you want me to come over?"

"No, it's fine. I just…I'm going to take a bath and sleep. I won't be much fun," she said sighing.

"Okay, we're still on for Wednesday?"

"Yeah, sure. Pick me up then," she said hanging up the phone sharply.

Harry wasn't sure if he had done something wrong. He debated going over there but it was Friday. Maybe she just had a rough day at work. He'd give her a call tomorrow.

He called her on Saturday before work but didn't get an answer, it was early. He tried when he got off work later that night, no answer again. He was mildly concerned but it was late, and Daphne wasn't a night owl.

He was able to reach her on Sunday. "I missed you yesterday," he said.

"Sorry, I've been sick," she said groaning a bit.

He winced, she did sound out of sorts. "I'm sorry. Do you want me to bring over soup or something?" he asked.

There was a long silence. So long that Harry thought the phone had disconnected them. "No. It's…I'm just sick. I'll be fine in a bit," she said.

Harry didn't like it. She did sound out of sorts but not exactly sick. "Are you sure? It's no big deal," he said.

"It's fine," she said sounding a bit annoyed.

"Okay…well I'll see you Wednesday? Unless you want to get together earlier," he said.

"Wednesday. I'm really busy this week. Overtime. I'm sorry," Daphne said quickly.

"Oh, okay. I understand. Just…I miss you," Harry said.

"Miss, you too. I need to rest," Daphne said her voice pleading.

"Okay, go to sleep. If you need anything, please call?" he said.

"I will, goodbye," she said hanging up the phone and leaving Harry wondering what exactly was going on with her. He thought about going over and surprising her with something. He scrapped that plan quickly, Daphne seemed dead set against it, and she wasn't the type to play games or test someone.

Harry decided it would be best to let it go. He didn't want to let it go but he didn't want to be overbearing either. He'd just give her a call tomorrow and check up on her.

Once again, that had been Harry's plan, but a low-life thought it'd be hilarious to drop 200 envelopes into the muggle post all around London. It wouldn't have been a problem, but the envelopes were cursed to be razor sharp and went for fingers and hair.

42 sent to the hospital and nearly 300 others had to be mended quickly and obliviated, the envelopes weren't picky about only hitting the person who picked them up. He didn't get home until nearly 3 AM that night and thought it better than to even try and call her.

He was finally able to find time the next evening. "Are we good for tomorrow night?" he asked hearing silence on the other end of the line.

"Yes, I feel better. Pick me up around 6?" she asked him.

"That will work," Harry said relaxing, he was afraid they were going to have to reschedule. "I'm sorry I've been so busy lately. Work has just been one magical hell after another. How's your work been?" he asked.

"I actually took a few days off because I've been ill," Daphne said. "I mean…I've had a fever and chills and a cough. I would be a hazard to have in there," she said.

"I…I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure you've been too sick to go in," he said.

"Exactly. Like I tried on Monday, but I just couldn't get out of bed. I don't see how I should be punished for that," Daphne said in a bit of a frenzy now.

"Are you feeling okay? Are you sure your fever isn't spiking?" Harry said moving to put on his jacket, so he could go over there and check in on her like he should have a few days ago.

"I'm fine. Look, I'm fine. I've just been out of sorts. Living on soup is never fun. I am feeling better. No more fever," she said.

"You swear?"

"I swear, or may my sister get more beautiful," she giggled.

Harry bit his lip. He hated when she did that. He knew other people were going to compare them, but she didn't need to do that to herself. She looked great. Not wanting to start a rant, he let it drop. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked.

"I'll be ready by 5:59," she promised.

"Great, see you soon," he said, and she hung up the phone.

Harry spent the next day feeling more anxious as the day went along. There was no reason he should feel this way. It was Hermione and Ron. They were the easiest people in the world to talk to. Hermione held no ill feelings towards Daphne and Ron wouldn't say anything bad about a Slytherin now. Still, he hadn't been able to see her all week and that made him nervous.

Was Daphne actually going to be ready tonight? She said she would and she had never missed any of their set-up dates. Maybe one or two due to feeling ill but there was no pattern to it. He was sure he was just overreacting. It was just a dinner with his friends and it'd be a bit awkward with Daphne at first, but they'd be fine.

He popped over to her apartment at 5:52. He had wanted to come and see her earlier, but he didn't want to pressure her on time. He knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer it. There was no answer.

Strange, he knocked on the door again. Still no answer. Was she drying her hair and couldn't hear him. He gave her a minute and knocked again. This time he heard shuffling on the other side of the door. The door opened to reveal Daphne. Daphne who was in no way ready.

Her hair was a mess, she had tried to put it into some sort of messy ponytail or bun. It hadn't worked obviously, there were stray hairs everywhere. She looked pale too, the apartment was dark, and she was only dressed in sweats and a t-shirt.

"Daphne are you uhhh feeling alright?" Harry asked, and she hung her head. She'd been glancing at him nervously since she opened the door.

"I've had a bad day," she said moving away from him and back to the couch. The normally pristine apartment was a mess. There were dishes everywhere, take out containers, and tissues. She walked over to the couch and curled herself up into a ball and wrapped a blanket around herself.

"Are you…what's going on Daphne?" he asked moving some plates out of the way and sitting next to her.

"I don't know I just…I want to….I don't know what I want to do," Daphne said digging her face into her knees and rocking back and forth.

Harry was taken aback by this and felt out of his element as she started to cry. He tried to wrap his arms around her. She flinched at his touch. What was he supposed to do?

"Daphne. I'm confused. What's going on?" he asked thinking this might be some sort of wizarding disease.

"I can't do it," she said her voice squealing and pleading. "I just…it was hard enough when I went out with you but I just…everyone wants to talk to me now. I…I…I can't…I just…I'll humiliate myself," she said starting to hyperventilate.

Harry took the chance and started to rub her back to try and calm her down. It worked when he was with Teddy. "Hey hey…talk to me. What are you talking about? It's just Hermione and Ron,"

"NO, IT'S NOT!" she screeched. Harry jumped, he had never heard her get that loud before. He stopped rubbing her back.

"I mean…they're just Hermione and Ron to you. I'm not…I'm not good enough. Everyone knows it. Sure, they're polite but that's it! I'm just…I'm not blind Harry. I don't know why you even agreed to go out with me. I'm just so stupid," she said curling up tighter.

Harry was shocked by this outburst. He had known that she had self-esteem issues, but he didn't realize that it was this bad.

"You should go and be with your friends. I'm not…I shouldn't be at that table. You're amazing, nice, everything anyone could want," she said her heart was pounding now.

Harry was at a loss for words. He'd never seen this sort of breakdown before. The closet experience he had was Hermione when Final Tests were coming up but even then a bit of sleep would help her. Sleep wasn't going to fix this.

Daphne just sat there crying and there was a knock on the door. Harry looked over at it. He didn't want to leave Daphne. There was another sharp knock.

"DAPHNE! OPEN THIS DOOR OR I WILL BLAST IT DOWN!" a feminine voice came from the other side of the door.

"I'll get it," Harry said rubbing her shoulders. He opened it up to reveal a tanner Astoria Malfoy and a very unhappy looking Draco.

Astoria pushed him out of the way and went right to her sister. "Daphne," she said pulling her into a hug. She started to rub her sisters back to comfort her. "You haven't answered my letters all week. I told mom and dad to check up on you. The did and they said no one was home. That you must have been busy," she said shaking her head. "I knew it though," she said.

"I'm sorry Tori," she said her face burning with embarrassment.

"It's not your fault. It's not your fault," Astoria said tearing up a bit.

Harry wasn't really sure what was going on. He looked over at Draco who seemed more annoyed that his honeymoon had interrupted. He started to clean the apartment a bit. "Potter…I mean Lord Black-Potter. Lord Potter-Black, whichever," he said being a bit rude. Harry was too concerned about Daphne to care.

"Is this common?" Harry whispered. Draco looked at him oddly.

"First time you're seeing this?" he asked shaking his head.

"I…" Harry said suddenly feeling like he didn't really know his girlfriend.

"Have you been taking your sleeping potions?" Astoria asked, and Daphne looked down. She shrugged.

"I don't…it's been hard to get out," she said.

"When was the last time you slept?" Astoria asked pulling away.

Daphne murmured something.

"I can't hear you,"

"Monday," Daphne sighed.

"You need some sleep now. I don't care what you were about to do," she said looking Harry over. She'd deal with him later.

"Come on now," Astoria said. She started to move Daphne to her room.

Draco sighed and handed Harry a trash bag. "Just hold it open," he said taking out his wand.

"If you ruin anything that Daphne owns, you're the one buying it!" Astoria said helping Daphne along.

"Fine," Draco grumbled and started to pick up his sister in-laws trash.

"So, is this common?" Harry asked helping Draco.

"Ever since I've known them," Draco said. "Had to get back here. I told her that it was nothing. Daphne was having fun with you. I'm never going to get any rest," he grumbled.

Harry was dating Daphne and for the first time he felt like he truly didn't know her. It was foolish to think that after a few months he could know her. He didn't realize just how much of a gulf there was between him and Daphne.

"Please don't blame Harry," Daphne plead as Astoria handed her a potion bottle to drink down.

"And why not?" Astoria asked crossing her arms.

"He kept calling. I just…I don't know. We're supposed to have dinner with his friends and I started to panic," she said looking down ashamed over herself.

That softened her sister and she came over to rub Daphne on the back. "And why did that bother you so much?"

"I know you, mom, and dad. Plus, the Malfoy's are too polite. Everyone there is too polite. Oh, everyone will think how can Daphne get Harry?" she asked starting to cry. "But they'll wait until they're home to gossip,"

Astoria felt guilty. That was the exact thing she had done on her wedding night. She actually cared about her sister, the others didn't. That was the difference.

"He called every day, I think. The days kinda run together," Daphne said starting to drink the potion. "Just…please. Don't…be nice," Daphne plead desperate.

"Daphne…" Astoria started.

"Please, I don't. I don't have a lot of good things happen in my life like this. Everyone else in our house rejected me. Try to smooth this over," Daphne said.

Astoria stayed quiet.

"Stori…." She begged starting to cry.

"He didn't do anything other than try to be kind?"

Daphne nodded and yawned. "He kept calling. He cared. I just didn't know how to react," she said curling up and closing her eyes. "Please…just try and make him understand. Make him at least want to talk to me," she said.

"I'll do what I can," Astoria said fairly certain that Harry Potter was about to dump her sister.

"Thank you. I love you Stori, I know…" Daphne started.

Astoria just pulled her sister into a hug. "You have nothing to apologize for. I know you don't mean it,"

"I love you,"

"I love you too," she said giving her sister a kiss on the forehead and quietly leaving the room. Her sister must be exhausted.

Astoria walked out to a very annoyed Draco and confused Harry. She put on her best smile and started to help them clean.

"That's…" Harry started.

"I remember the first time. It was just before my first year. I knew Daphne had issues. I didn't realize just how bad it was. I was so excited to go with my sister to Diagon Alley to shop for supplies, but the general stress of school scared her so much that she was just laying on her bed sobbing," Astoria said.

Harry had nothing to say to that.

"My sister doesn't handle stress well. She doesn't handle a lot of things well," Astoria sighed.

"I'll still never know how she got into Slytherin," Draco said earning him a sharp glare from his wife.

"She's ambitious that's why. When Daphne is in a good period she's amazing. She's smart, she's funny, and no one can possibly beat her. Then the bad days come around," Astoria sighed.

"Do you know why that happens?" Harry asked.

Astoria shrugged. "Mom and dad have taken her to healers but there's no real reason for it. She's a bit touched in the head,"

Draco looked like he had something to say but held his tongue.

"You just give her a sleeping potion and hope she sleeps it off?" Harry asked.

"Basically, it may take a week or so but she comes back," Astoria said as an otter Patronus appeared and asked Harry where he and Daphne were.

"If you're still interested in my sister, get used to things like this happening. We had to cancel a birthday trip one year because she wouldn't leave her room," Astoria said.

Harry ignored her and sent off his own, saying that Daphne had taken ill at the last minute and they'd have to reschedule.

"Are you sure your parents tried everything?" he asked.

"She's the first born. They'd do anything for her. They tried a few potions on her but her mood never truly stabilizes. It makes it very hard sometimes to do things," Astoria said, and Draco snorted.

"Have something to say Draco?" Harry asked looking at him.

"It never left our common room, for various reasons. A lot of things. Infighting and such never left it. That was one of the things. Snape told us all to be sure that she got to class. My guess is the Greengrass' either talked to him or Dumbledore. It could be annoying. She was good the majority of the time but sometimes you had to drag her or bring her work when she really wouldn't move,"

Harry tightened up a bit and ran his hands through his hair. "I knew she was a little quirky. I didn't realize there was this much," he said.

Astoria knew the other shoe was about to drop. "I understand if you don't want to see her again. Nott didn't, Draco didn't," she said.

"To be…" he started.

"It's fine dear. Your soul just knew that we were meant to be a match," she said smiling. "Just give her a chance to talk to you," Astoria said.

"You think I'm just going to break up with her?" he asked getting defensive.

"Yes. No offense. Daphne is not someone who is easy to see or live with. She goes up to down, clean to dirty, perky to sad,"

"And that means I'm not going to want to put up with her?"

"You're Harry Potter," she said. "I love my sister. I only want the best for her. If you're serious about this. Then talk with her and prepare yourself for days like this. If you're not serious about it. Move on. I'm sure there's some famous veela, Quidditch star, model, or princess somewhere who'd love to have you,"

Harry stayed quiet and thought about what she had said. They weren't particularly deep words but he still thought about them.

"You can't admit that the stress of this last week was good for her. I'm sure it will lessen. It's going to take work to date her. Just think it over and come and talk to her later," Astoria said.

"That would be for the best," Harry said. "I am sorry your honeymoon got interrupted," he said.

"Thank you. That's very kind," Astoria said.

"Thanks," Draco said thinking about the fun he could be having.

"She'll be asleep for a bit?" he asked.

"Yes," Astoria said.

"If you're still here. Tell her I'll call her tomorrow afternoon or come over," he said.

"I will or leave a note," Astoria said.

"Thanks," Harry said turning heel and leaving. His mind in a jumble.

"You're really going to do that?" Draco asked.

"Yes, Daphne wants me to try," Astoria said. "She deserves at least that much. Besides even if I told him that she wasn't interested he wouldn't believe me,"

"He did like to barge into things headfirst," Draco said. "What do you think he'll do?" he asked.

"Move on more than likely. I don't see why someone who could have any witch would want to deal with this stress. I hate doing it sometimes. I'm sorry we had come here," she said.

"It's…annoying but Potter was in over his head. Plus, you'd have been panicky until you saw her. Which is kind of cute but I like you calm," Draco teased as they finished cleaning up Daphne's apartment, at least as much as they could.

Harry went straight home and poured himself a glass of firewhiskey, he had a lot to think about. He had never seen Daphne like this before and if he was honest it sort of scared him. She just looked so fragile. He didn't know how he was supposed to respond to it.

Suddenly, his fireplace lit up and Ron walked out.

"Hey, I was just coming to check if you still wanted to come over. Sorry about Daphne," he said sitting down. "I'm surprised you're here and not taking care of her. You know how Hermione is. She thought I should at least check," he said smiling.

"It's fine. Daphne is asleep and there wasn't anything else I could do," Harry said.

"That's good at least. Do you want to come over? Hermione cooked up a storm," he said.

"No, but thank you. I just have a lot on my mind right now," Harry said.

"I know how you feel," Ron sighed rubbing his temples.

"What's on your mind?" Harry asked thinking that might help him take his mind off Daphne.

"You're sure? I don't want to burden you," Ron said.

"I need to clear my mind a bit and this will help," Harry said.

"Okay," Ron said staying quiet for a minute. "I'm going to quit my job after my honeymoon,"

Harry was taken aback. "What?" he asked.

"I've thought about it and I don't like the job. It's not something I'm built for," he sighed. "Remember during the hunt? How I just left? Not all of that was the necklace,"

"I'm just…Ron you're really good at your job. I like having you at work,"

"I know. It just doesn't make me happy. I didn't really want to take the job in the first place," Ron added.

"So why did you?" Harry asked sipping on his drink.

"I needed to do something. I couldn't go back to school," Ron said. "I couldn't just…I thought about it. I couldn't go there. Fred died there. The thought of it was too much. Too many bad memories," he said.

Harry stayed silent and nodded at him to continue.

"Couldn't get a job anywhere else without finishing my education other than the Auror office. They didn't care. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Hermione doesn't know what I'm going to do yet,"

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked.

"I'm going to join George. I'm going to help him run the shop. It's something I've enjoyed doing and George is all for it. I need to do something that will make me happy. I don't just want to do what is expected of me," Ron said feeling better now that the weight was off his chest.

"I'm glad you're going to do something that will make you happy," Harry said. "Even if I'm going to miss seeing you at work," Harry asked.

They both sat there in silence for a few minutes.

"What are the expectations for me?" Harry asked.

"What?" Ron asked.

"You said you're quitting because you can't just do what's expected of you. What is expected of me in your mind. Don't worry, you won't insult me," Harry said.

Ron took a few minutes to answer. "You're Harry Potter. You're going to be an Auror. Then you'll head up the DMLE and be the Minister of Magic if you want to be. If not then you'll do something else great," Ron said.

"and my personal life?" Harry asked.

"Harry…"

"Ron,"

"Fine. The general expectation was for you to marry my sister. That's off the table now so most people think you'll marry a model or someone else famous. It's what people like you do. It's why Daphne was a surprise," Ron said.

Harry sat there looking into his glass.

"What's going on?" Ron asked.

"Nothing. Just thinking about certain things with my life," he said. "I'm going to have to have a long talk tomorrow," he sighed.

"Anything bad?" Ron asked.

"Maybe. It'll be long," he said pouring another glass.

"Do you need…"

"No, I just have to talk with Daphne about some things," Harry said.

"Well good luck. Are you breaking up with her?" Ron asked.

"No. I'm not doing that. I just learned somethings about her tonight and I can't share them," he said.

"I'll be off then. I'll tell Hermione you just need sleep,"

"Thanks, and Ron. I think you're making the right decision," Harry said.

"Thank and I hope it goes well tomorrow," Ron said.

"Thanks," Harry said. Ron left, and he sat there once again contemplating tomorrow. It wasn't going to be fun and it wasn't going to be easy. They had to talk tomorrow. They had to talk about everything.

 **Please Review**


	7. The Long Talk

**A/N: Thank you for all the kind reviews from last chapter. This chapter is up earlier than I expected. I had a lot of time to write this weekend. I hope you enjoy it. Another dialogue heavy chapter. We'll have some more action next time.**

 **Chapter 7**

Daphne woke up the next morning feeling the best and worst she had in weeks. It was some of the most sleep she had been able to get. She wasn't tossing and turning like she normally did. Sun was streaming into her room and her mind started to feel more clear. That was when everything that happened yesterday entered her mind.

"Dammit…dammit dammit dammit Daphne," she said to herself hitting her head against her pillow. "You just had to lose control, didn't you?" she asked grabbing another pillow and pulling it over her head. She just lay there for the next half hour thinking about everything.

"Astoria, I don't ask you for a lot. Please tell me that you were able to convince Harry to give me another chance," she said getting up out of bed and walking out to her now clean apartment with a note on the kitchen table. She had to admit that Astoria and Draco did do a good job cleaning. It wasn't perfect, but she wasn't living in a pit anymore.

 _Daphne,_

 _We clean up your apartment, obviously. We decided to head back for the evening. Please, please, please owl me as soon as you wake up. Otherwise, Draco and I will return to check on you. Harry left. I did speak with him. He said he would be calling you today. I did what I could on that front. Please write._

 _Love,_

 _Astoria Malfoy_

Daphne sighed and took out some parchment, so she could send a reply off.

 _Astoria,_

 _Thank you. I apologize you had to deal with this. Sleep did help. I still feel not great, but things are clearer now. I should be fine. I'll write you every day. Thank you for trying with Harry. I'll let you know how that goes._

 _Love,_

 _Daphne_

Daphne sent the message off with her owl. "Take this to Astoria," she said petting the owl before sending it off. She looked at the phone and waited for it to ring. She looked over at the clock. It was only 8 in the morning. Harry wouldn't be calling anytime soon. He was caring. He'd wait until he was sure that she was up.

"Maybe I should call him," she said, drumming her fingers on the table. Anxiety started to rise again inside of her. "No. I can wait. I need…I can't bug him. I need to know that he's interested. I mean that makes sense, right?" she asked herself as she started to clean her table. They missed a few spots last night.

"You knew this was going to happen. You knew that he'd see this at some point and freak out. They all do that," she said remember her man 'dates' over the years. They weren't really dates. Her parents had tries to introduce her to their friends' sons. They always liked her at first, at least decently. Then they'd either see Astoria or she'd be herself. Everyone in Slytherin knew that she could be moody. Men didn't like that, her mother said so.

"Just…focus. Harry actually called you. He dealt with your family. I'm sure Astoria at least asked him to give me another chance. It's not like he can just have any woman in the world that he wants," she said feeling her stomach drop. "Yeah, this is over," she said sighing. She went over to lay down on the couch.

"You had him. You somehow met Harry Potter. He's cute. He's fun. He actually liked you. He called you. He wanted you to meet his friends. All you had to do was act polite. Smile a bit," she said.

"You know that isn't true. Granger would have asked you fifty questions. You remember how scary she was in school," Daphne sighed. "And now you're talking to yourself. Really helping you own mental wellness,"

Daphne elected to just lay there in silence. At some point she did turn on her TV just to get some background noise. She kept on trying to relax. It was impossible though. The gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach was returning and she could feel her heart pound. Harry was going to break-up with her. She knew it was coming. There was no way he couldn't break-up with her. She ruined his evening and showed off what she really was. She grabbed a blanket and put it over herself so she could hide. She did call in work and explain that she wasn't coming in today. They weren't happy about it since she had taken yesterday off too. Daphne didn't care. Her life was falling apart again and she needed a day.

Why was she the way she was? Daphne had often asked herself that question. She didn't mean to just get nervous and lose control. Harry and his friends were her age after all. It shouldn't mean anything. They were so much different than she was though. They fought and beat a Dark Lord. It was a major victory when she was able to go out by herself. She was pathetic. What did Harry see in her?

"He saw the real you Daphne. He's going to break up. He's going to end it," she said to herself again.

Every second felt like torture. She just kept waiting for the phone to ring. She kept waiting for him to call. Would he just end it over the phone? That would hurt less. Sure, she couldn't go and fight for him. If he was just going to end it though, then it would be better. When the phone did ring she nearly jumped out of her skin.

Daphne felt sick. She readied herself for it and picked up the phone. "Hello," she said knowing it had to be Harry. No one else called her.

"Hey," Harry said. "How are you feeling?" he asked her.

"Better than yesterday. Sorry. I hope your friends weren't put out," she said chewing on her lower lip.

"I haven't talked to Hermione yet. Ron was fine though. She'll understand," he assured her.

"Great," Daphne said not wanting to say anything else.

"You sound better than yesterday,"

"Yeah…I'm…I don't know," Daphne sighed kicking her foot. "I don't mean to get like that,"

"I know. Your sister made that clear too. Do you mind if I come over?" he asked.

"To talk?" Daphne asked feeling sick and blinking back tears.

"Yes. I'm not going to break up with you," Harry said. He had spent all night thinking about how he wanted to do this. He wanted to be with her. He also thought back to last week and thought if he had been more clear or come over like he should have. He might have been able to help her. He might have not been able to stop it. He would have liked to have been able to comfort her.

"Really?" she asked honestly shocked. "You know you don't have to stay with me. Just because you feel bad or something like that," she mumbled.

"I want to be with you. We just need to talk about what happened last night. I know you didn't want me to find out. I don't want any secrets between us," he said.

Daphne stayed quiet for a bit.

"Did I lose you?" he asked.

"No. Can you give me an hour to get ready?" she asked.

"Sure. I'll be over then and Daphne, this isn't the end. I don't want it to be," he said.

"Okay, I'll see you soon," she said hanging up the phone. She wasn't sure how she felt. She had been so sure that he was going to end it. He didn't want to, for some reason. She didn't understand it. She didn't like to be with herself half the time. She walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

"Okay Daphne, shower first," she said and took a shower. She hadn't taken one in days and was in desperate need of one. Once she was finished she did feel refreshed and went over to the mirror. "Should I even bother with make-up?" she asked looking at herself. She didn't like looking the mirror unless she had to and now was one of those times.

"Yes. I need to try and look nice for him," she said getting to work. Nothing too much. Just enough to give her a little bit more color. "He's not breaking up with you. I don't know what he sees in you. Should you even care?" she asked. She did this a lot. Her mother tried to break her of it but sometimes her head was in such a jumble she needed to talk to herself to keep herself sane.

She changed into jeans and a blouse. She wanted to try and look nice. Harry deserved that. She started to tidy up a bit. Astoria and Draco had done a fantastic job, they just weren't up to her standards.

There was a knock on the door and she answered it. "Hello Harry," she said blushing a bit. She hated that he had seen her like he did. She knew she couldn't hide it forever, it just bothered her.

"Hey, looks a lot better today. Your sister still around?" he asked.

"No, they went back last night. My guess is Draco convinced her to portkey back. She just wanted an owl from me," Daphne said.

"Good. It was, interesting last night," Harry said.

"Yeah. I love her, but my sister can be a pain," she said sitting down.

"True. She cares about you at least. Hermione and Ron are great like that too," he said.

"So, what do you want to know?" Daphne asked bracing herself for a barrage of questions that she didn't really want to answer.

Harry just sat there for a few minutes and looked down. He had thought all night about this. He still wasn't sure if this was the right decision. After last night he had to do something to help build some trust.

"Harry? Are you okay?" she asked wondering if he had reconsidered breaking up with her.

"No. I don't want to break-up with you. I've just spent the night thinking about things. Nothing bad about you," he said tugging on his fingers a bit. He was nervous about this. "I can trust you, right?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean. No matter what happens you're not just going to run off to the Prophet? You're not going to do some sort of tell all?" he asked.

"Yes, I won't do that. I can take an oath if you want," she suggested.

Harry bit his lip. "Do you trust me not to tell anyone about what I saw last night?" he asked. He knew that as a Lord he could easily get away with it to embarrass the Greengrass name.

"Yes. I don't think you'd do anything like that to me. If it helps you are Lord Potter and Lord Black. I don't think I have enough influence for anyone to believe me anyway," she said wondering what this was all about.

"You know I told you I lived with my Aunt," he said.

"Yes," she said remembering that he didn't seem happy about that.

"There's a bit more to what I said. I need you to understand that I don't talk about this. I don't like to talk about this. Ron, Hermione, and I haven't talked about this," he said seriously.

Daphne looked at him in shock. She didn't think it was possible for him to have not shared something with Hermione and Ron. "Uhhh sure. I promise I won't. You can tell me anything," she said.

Harry just nodded and got extra quiet. "It wasn't a happy childhood. My relatives were horrible to me,"

"How so?" Daphne asked noticing how Harry was curling up on himself a bit.

"What do you think you know about Harry Potter? I mean, not all I've told you. Growing up what did you think about me? How would you have assumed I grew up?" he asked having trouble finding the words.

Daphne thought about it. "I would have assumed you grew up in a rather large manor. A fair number of servants. Flying all day," she said. "After all, how else did you make Seeker your first year?" she said trying to lighten the mood.

"Wait, is that what people thought?" he thought calming down a bit.

Daphne nodded. "How else could you be that good and have a Nimbus?" she said.

"That was actually the first time I ever rode a broom. The flying lesson I mean. The broom was a…gift," he said not wanting to admit who really gave it to him.

Her jaw hit the ground. "Seriously? You'd never ridden a broom? Why wouldn't you mention that earlier?" she asked feeling much calmer.

"It just never came up," he said shrugging.

"Seriously, you should fly more," she said trying to encourage him.

"I should but that's not the point," he said trying to get her back on track.

"Oh sorry, but yeah. When I think of Harry Potter. I imagined someone who grew up a bit like a Pureblood but without all the blood purity thing. Like I just assumed Dumbledore had a hand in raising you," she said.

"In a way, he did. Dumbledore decided that I should live with my Aunt. I can't go into all the reasons now. I will later, I promise, but for now just know that he did," he said. "I grew up…unloved, uncared for," he said.

Daphne looked at him in shock. There had been some rumors at school with the way he dressed but she had assumed it was muggle fashion.

"My cousin liked to beat me up. He wasn't punished for it. We've made up a bit over the years. My aunt and uncle weren't…they were never physically abusive, but they didn't care about me. They didn't give me a bedroom. They did the bare minimum," he said.

"What do you mean they didn't give you a bedroom?" she asked horrified.

"They made me sleep in a broom cupboard. Good grades were never praised. I was just…taking up space. They saw me as a waste of money and a waste of a person," he said.

Daphne reached out and started rubbing his back. "Why…why are you telling ME this?" she asked.

"Because…because it's something that happened. It's a part of me. It's…" he said composing himself. "After last night I went home, and I thought about everything. I realized that I really like you and I still want to be with you. I also realized that being Harry Potter can be intimidating. I didn't mean to cause you stress with that dinner,"

"I know. Harry, sometimes it can happen for no reason. I need you to understand that. Sometimes it does just happen," she said.

"I know. I assumed that. I just never want to cause you a lot of stress. Yes. I am Harry Potter, but my life was never some perfect story book. I don't want perfect. I don't need perfect. Nothing about my life has ever been perfect," he said. "I want to be honest with you. I want you to be honest with me. I want you to trust me. I trust you enough to tell you this," he said.

"That does mean a lot to me," Daphne said. "Would you have told me if I hadn't broken down?" she asked.

"I don't know. Maybe not today. At some point. I never told Ginny. There was…people want me to be something. If people knew this. It would upset them. I was told not to tell anyone about my living situation. They did move me up to a room after I got my Hogwarts letter. They were afraid of me. I've just never told anyone…well why didn't you tell me about your mood swings?" he asked.

"It's embarrassing. People make a big deal out of it. Once they know, they treat you like glass…" Daphne said everything connecting in her mind. "I get why you didn't say anything. You understand why I didn't?"

"Yes. Daphne, I want to be honest with you. I want you to expect that from me. A few things I have to check with Ron and Hermione on. They're our secrets but what I can about me. I want you to know. I want you to be able to talk to me. I'm not leaving because of this. I want to be with you and I want to help you. How bad or how often do you get…depressed?" he asked.

Daphne shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know. It comes and goes. I can go months feeling fine. I can have a two-week period where I hate moving. It just…comes and goes. My parents took me everywhere when I was a kid and even when I was a teen. They've just given up on it now. I just have to live with it. I hate it, but I have to live with it," she said.

Harry stayed quiet on that. He wasn't sure if that was true or not. He didn't know a lot about mental health. Uncle Vernon thought it was crazy people who should be locked up. As far as he was concerned, that meant it was worth a shot. That didn't meant Daphne would be willing and he didn't have any clue about any of it. He'd talk to Andromeda maybe? Hermione was an option; her parents might have some information.

"What are you thinking about?" Daphne asked.

"Just thinking that maybe we should attempt to look at muggle medical treatments," he said.

Daphne shifted under his gaze and grew uncomfortable. "I don't know. My parents tried a lot of treatments. I'm not sure I want to go through all that," she said.

"What was it like?" he asked.

Daphne shrugged. "It wasn't horrible. Lots of checks for curses. Getting my system cleaned out for potions. Had monitoring charms put on me. In and out of St. Mungo's. Monitored overnight," she said. "I was given potions too. I just don't think muggles could help me," she said.

"Okay. You don't have to. I just think that it might be worth looking at some options. If it's something that interferes with your life and makes you sad. It's worth a try," he said.

Daphne bit her lip and sighed at him. "It's a hassle and what do muggles know about witch health?" she asked.

"Point taken but muggleborns seem to do fine. There are also things such as non-magical injuries," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"Okay, if you broke your arm you could fix it magically or a muggle way, right?" he asked.

"Yes. Magically is faster," she said.

Harry nodded. "My point is just that both muggles and witches can break their arm. They have different treatments. Muggle and magic. Magic is better for a lot of things but isn't it possible that a muggle treatment might be worthwhile?"

Daphne didn't say anything. She just drummed her fingers on her thigh. Harry reached out for her hand.

"I'm not saying you have to. I just think that it might be worth a try. I don't know anything about it either. I'm not pretending I'm some expert. I'd like to talk to people about this. I want you happy. I don't want to go behind your back either and tell other people your problems," he explained.

Daphne softened a bit. "Thank you for that,"

"I can't really think of a good way to ask someone I know about help for this without mentioning you. I didn't think you'd appreciate that," he said. He didn't add in that if he felt it was bad enough he'd do it for her no matter what she said.

"I wouldn't. I don't like people knowing about it," Daphne said firmly.

"I get that. I'm not like other people…" Harry said.

"I know. You don't know what you're getting into," Daphne warned. "I can't promise I'll always be like this. This is an okay day. I'm going to have bad ones," she said.

"If that's the cost of getting to know you better. I'm willing to try," Harry said. "I'm not bright and sunny either. I hated everything fifth year and there are times I still get that way. Being an Auror is tough. There's a reason Ginny and I broke-up. We both contributed to it," he said. "I snapped at times, I buried myself in work, I'm not as bad as I used to be," Harry said.

"You haven't been that way with me," Daphne said being brave and rubbing his arm.

"I've had time to heal. I promise one day I'll go more into everything that happened. It's just hard to talk about,"

"I understand. You can ask me anything too," she said. "Minus Greengrass family secrets,"

"Understandable. I guess the same goes for Potter and Black family secrets," he sighed running his hands through his hair.

"What's wrong?" Daphne asked concerned about him.

"I just need to deal with the Black Family house at some point. It's cleaned out and I have a house elf there, but I don't' know what to do with it. I want to sell it, maybe. There's a lot of Black Family heirlooms though. It's not like I need the money from them. I just feel sick anytime I think about going over there," Harry admitted.

"That could be bad," Daphne said. "Why do you feel so bad? Did you spend a lot of time there?"

"Only a month over summer. I just thought I'd be able to live there long term one day. It never happened," he said leaving it at that.

"I'm sorry. I do think you should keep it. The Blacks were a bit paranoid. I can only imagine what you might find there if you tried to investigate as Lord Black," she said.

"The teams I sent in had mentioned that. They didn't find anything deadly. Mrs. Weasley and us also spent a summer cleaning it out. We barely made headway," he said remembering that.

"Just think about it. If you need me to go with you I will," she said. Curiosity was taking over now, and she wanted to see just what she could find.

"I'll think about it," Harry sighed. "I appreciate you want to come along," he said leaning in and kissing her.

Daphne flinched a bit, not expecting it, but quickly returned his kiss.

"Do you want to do anything today?" Harry asked.

Daphne shifted a bit and started to play with her fabric of her shirt. "I don't know. Normally I like to be alone," she admitted.

Harry was a little disappointed. He supposed was what both women were trying to warn him about when they said that it would be hard to date her. "You sure you'll be alright at least? You looked bad last night,"

"I know Harry and there's nothing you can really do about that," Daphne said thinking over what she wanted to do. She had called out to work and was clean. Harry wanted to spend time with her. Most of the time after someone saw one of her down periods they'd want to run away from her. Maybe it was worth giving it a shot. "If we go out, you understand that I may want to come back here? It might only be fifteen minutes if I'm not feeling well. I don't want to waste your time," she said.

"You won't waste my time. I'd rather spend time with you. However long that is," he said. "I'm not doing anything today either. If you don't feel well don't force it. I won't blame you," he said.

Daphne felt butterflies in her stomach. She bit her lip. She didn't want to do this. She just wanted to hide from the world again. She looked at Harry. He cared enough to come over here and he still wanted to be with her. "I'm going to try and go out with you for a bit," she said.

"Great, nothing too bad. Just a lunch," Harry said.

"Let me grab my coat," Daphne smiled. Her legs felt a bit uneasy and she was getting ready to throw up. Maybe this would end badly. For the first time in a long time, she wanted to try. She knew this wasn't going to heel her. She was certain that nothing would. It might be nice to try and take it off her mind. Even if it was only for an hour.

"Let's go," Daphne said feeling a little steadier. "Thank you," she said.

"For what?"

"For not leaving me. For giving me a chance. For being honest," she said.

"You don't have to thank me for that. I like you. Let's just try and have a nice day," he said feeling better than he had last night. He was going to do everything he could to help her. She deserved it.

"Okay," she said looking at Harry. It was so strange. No one really knew what the real Harry was like. She felt like she was in on some secret now. She was going to do everything she could to be the best girlfriend ever. He deserved it.

 **Please Review**


	8. The Dinner

**A/N: Once again thanks for all the kind words and reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Chapter 8**

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Harry asked for what had to be the 50th time that day.

"I'm fine…" Daphne said trying to keep herself steady while working on her make-up.

It had been a few days since their heart to heart talk and Daphne seemed okay. They had been able to push the dinner to Saturday. Harry had wanted to push it back later, but Daphne felt that getting it over with would be for the best. She wasn't feeling her best. It wasn't going to get any better though. This way she had less time to focus on the dread of it.

"Hermione and Ron will love you," Harry assured her, rubbing her arm.

"I'm sure," Daphne said not believing it. She'd been thinking about what stories she could tell. They all seemed to dinky to her. They would think the same, then Harry would break up with her, then Astoria would say I told you so, and she'd be alone with ice cream.

Daphne shook her head. She needed to stop doing that to herself. Harry hadn't left her. It would probably end one day but it wouldn't be this weekend. She needed to stop thinking like that. She didn't know how long it was going to last. She just wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.

"Okay, well don't worry you'll be fine. Just don't mention the wedding," Harry sighed.

"Why?" Daphne asked.

"Because that will be the only thing we hear about all night. I don't know how other couples make it work," he said.

"One of the biggest issues with purebloods and muggleborn weddings. Purebloods want to do everything magical. You have to hold back a bit depending on who the muggleborn invites. It's a headache," she said. "I mean imagine Astoria's wedding if you had to include a muggle second cousin who knows nothing about magic and can't find out,"

"Makes sense, there was talk of a second wedding. It's not happening. They're making it work the best they can. I just don't feel like hearing about place settings all night," Harry said.

Daphne started to debate bringing it up at dinner. She'd save it in her back pocket in case they started really questioning her and she needed an out. "How do I look?" Daphne asked finishing up.

"You look amazing," he said kissing her.

"I don't," she said.

"You do, now come on. If we're more than five minutes late Hermione will send out a search party," he said.

"How'd you live like that in school?" Daphne asked.

"I don't know. It annoyed me at the time. She means well and that's what counts," he said.

Daphne just nodded. She supposed that having someone who actually cared about your well-being would be something that Harry craved even if he didn't realize it.

"Let's do this," she said planting a fake smile on her face. That was one thing she was grateful for her mother for. She knew how to fake her way through things. There were times she broke down but if she could avoid that she'd just smile and soon enough it would be over. She reached over and grabbed him as they apparated into Hermione's apartment.

"Oh, there you are! I was getting worried," Hermione said pulling Harry into a hug.

"Hermione, it's only three minutes…" Harry said.

"I know but I was worried someone would get sick again," she said.

At that comment Daphne blushed. "Sorry about that. Just really didn't feel well,"

"It's fine. Just happy we were able to get together. It's nice to see you again Daphne," Hermione said.

"Same to you," Daphne said not wanting to make things awkward. She was certain she had never talked to Hermione in her life.

Ron came out and looking more refreshed than Harry had seen him in a while. "Glad you could make it," he said. "What are you drinking?"

"We have wine," Hermione said leading everyone to the kitchen.

"Water will be fine," Daphne said. She wanted wine. She wanted firewhiskey. She wanted a stiff drink. She couldn't risk losing control. She was stressed enough. Alcohol was a wild card. She might be happy, or she might start sobbing. It was a bit of a toss-up.

"Okay, water for Daphne and for you Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Wine will work," he said not particularly caring. He would have preferred something a bit harder. Wine would work for now.

"Great!" Hermione said going and playing hostess.

Daphne took this time to look around a bit. Everything seemed to be clean and proper. It reminded her of her own home but a bit more magical. Not too surprising. Hermione never had to worry about a muggle who didn't know anything coming over. It wasn't a common occurrence for Daphne but every now and then she'd go out with co-workers and her place was the closest. Quick spell to make her pictures freeze took care of it and no one was the wiser.

Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder and jumped.

"Sorry. I was just asking if there was anything else you needed," Hermione said.

"No, I was…uh…just…you have a very lovely apartment. Do you and Ron live together?" she asked.

"Yes, we plan to live here for a bit longer," Hermione said.

"It's very nice," Daphne said trying to act like her heart wasn't pounding.

"Thank you. Hopefully Ron will get promoted soon and we won't be here for too long," Hermione said. Ron looked uncomfortable, he stayed quiet.

"Yeah…kind of how I feel about my place. I might get promoted soon. Maybe," Daphne said.

"Oh? That's good! What do you do?" Hermione asked.

Daphne's cheeks grew hot and she cursed herself for saying anything. "Just customer service for a muggle company. Nothing great. Might get promoted to Tier 2. Less on the phone time," she said wiping a fake bead of sweat off her forehead and laughing.

"Is it bad?" Ron asked.

"It's…people are…crazy," she said. "Treated worse than a house elf sometimes,"

Hermione opened her mouth to say something. Harry cut her off first.

"Yeah. Well that's any job really. Remember she just can't use magic to fix everything," Harry said.

"On the plus side nothing too weird. No brooms randomly crashing. Just people who were billed wrong. I've just done it enough that I'll get to move up. Only have to deal with a supervisor call sometimes," she said sticking out her tongue. She wasn't looking forward to that bit.

"It sounds…lovely," Hermione said.

"Not really. I need to find something else. Just hard," Daphne said.

"What do you want to do?" Hermione inquired.

"I don't really know. I'll figure it out," Daphne shrugged.

Hermione gave her a look but held her tongue. "If you ever decide that you want something just let me know. I'm sure I know someone. My parents could help too," she said.

Daphne blushed. She didn't want someone to help her. Plus, she could use her parents contacts if she really wanted something. She knew that Hermione was trying to be nice, but she felt a little insulted. "Thanks. Can I get that water?" she asked.

"Oh yes, sorry," Hermione said going to get it for her as Daphne gravitated back to Harry.

Harry could tell she was struggling a little bit. He wrapped his arm around her. "You're doing fine," he whispered.

Daphne didn't say anything. She just nodded and when Hermione came back, happily accepted the water.

"What did you make?" Harry asked trying to take some pressure off.

"I made a roasted chicken," Hermione said proudly.

"Weird to think of you cooking and domestic," Harry teased.

"We can't all live on takeout," she said. "Do you cook?" she asked Daphne.

"A bit, I'm not fantastic at it. I prefer simple," Daphne shrugged feeling like she was being judged.

"If you'd like…"

Ron coughed a bit. Hermione looked at him had enough shame to blush. "Uhhh I mean…if you like…we have appetizers," Hermione said.

"What do you have?" Daphne asked.

"Shrimp cocktail," Hermione said smiling leading the way to the kitchen, Daphne followed.

"Thanks for that," Harry said.

"No problem, I've been trying to keep her focused all week. She just wants to be friends," Ron said.

"I know. It's just a bit…"

"Much?"

"Yep,"

"That's why I love her. It'll be fine. Ever since Ginny started traveling more I think Hermione is just looking for someone to do things with. She got used to it," Ron said.

"It might be good for Daphne," Harry said. Would getting out more help her? He didn't know. He needed to find some time to really talk about this with someone.

"Ohhhh! This IS good!" Harry heard from the kitchen.

"Sounds like it's going well in there," Harry laughed.

"I'm sure it is. They both just need to relax," Ron said.

"You noticed how tense she is?"

"I did learn a few things in Auror training. She knows we won't bite?"

"Yeah. It's just difficult for her," Harry said wanting to remain vague.

Ron said nothing and just nodded as Hermione and Daphne returned with plates for everyone. "This is fantastic," Daphne said shoving another one into her mouth.

"Glad you like it," Hermione said. The mood started to relax a bit and everyone started to chat lightly. Daphne didn't really say anything. She seemed to be fine with that. Hermione wasn't grilling her anymore. A fair amount of her fears were starting to leave her. This wasn't that bad. Harry was right, they were just his friends. The night seemed to be going along swimmingly, she opted to partake in wine. Nothing much, just a glass.

Soon they were all around the dinner table eating and Daphne was her normal self. As normal as she could be. Harry was holding her hand under the table. Hermione was a little overly friendly. It wasn't bad though. She was used to her family treating her like glass, this was refreshing.

"Your sisters' wedding looked nice," Hermione said about halfway through the meal.

"Thank you. It was a little over the top for my taste," Daphne said.

"Any reason why?" Ron asked.

Daphne shifted uncomfortably. "Just not my style. I prefer intimate. How big is your wedding going to be?" she asked.

"Not small but not large either. You'll enjoy it I'm sure. You're not allergic to anything, are you?"

"No. At least nothing that I know of," she joked. "I mean I guess I could be allergic to something muggle I've never had," she joked.

"Good to know. Just hold back on using magic. My family will be there," Hermione said.

Daphne nodded. "I don't use magic too much anyway," she shrugged. "I apparate to travel or when I'm running late. Some simple spells but that's about it. Can't keep replacing electronics," Daphne said.

"Is there any reason you prefer to live that way? Most purebloods don't," Ron said.

Daphne blushed and squirmed. "Just what I prefer," she said politely.

Harry knew that Ron and Hermione went well but he could sense that Daphne was getting annoyed by this line of questioning. She'd never say anything, she'd just keep on answering questions.

"Daphne, did I ever tell you the story of how the three of us became friends?" Harry asked.

Hermione and Ron looked at him a little wary.

"No, you haven't," Daphne said suddenly very interested.

"You guys don't mind, right?" Harry asked looking at them.

"It's not some crazy secret," Hermione said.

"I don't mind," Ron shrugged. "I'm surprised it didn't get out earlier," he said.

"What do you mean? I mean, yeah it was a little weird you three just started hanging out all the time," Daphne said visibly relaxing.

"Well…it's a little more complicated than that," Harry said and proceeded to tell the story of the troll incident. Hermione and Ron helped filling in a few details for her.

Daphne just looked at them slack jawed. "I…I…you thought it was a good idea to jump on a troll?"

"It was the best idea at the time," Harry pointed out laughing a bit.

"How can you just…laugh about it? I mean…you were eleven! I heard rumors something happened with you three and the troll. I didn't believe them though because I didn't think anyone our age could take on a troll,"

"We got lucky," Hermione said. "Total luck," she said.

"Why'd you take the blame for it?" Daphne asked.

"I don't know…I was in shock. I…I didn't want Ron or Harry to hate me. I didn't want to get them in more trouble. Stupid. It wasn't like Ron meant for that to happen," she said. "I probably shouldn't have lied but it all worked out," Hermione said waving her hand.

"What did your parents say when you wrote them?" Daphne asked.

Ron and Harry had never thought of that and looked over at Hermione. It was her turn to blush and curl in on herself a bit. "I kinda never told them," Hermione blushed.

"What?" Ron asked while Harry laughed and shook his head.

"I was worried they'd pull me out of school! You two were being nice to me. I never really had close friends. I don't know. Much like the troll it made sense at the time," she said obviously embarrassed.

"Not going to tell that story at the wedding then," Ron said.

"I wouldn't recommend it," Hermione said. "I love my parents. They'd have had massive strokes and I'd never be able to learn magic. They're probably die now. I've told them a lot but certain things I've held back," she said.

"Did they know you were petrified second year?" Harry asked.

Hermione just sipped on her wine and didn't look at him. "So anyway…that's how we became friends," she said.

"That's…crazy to me," Daphne said. "I'd have literally died. Did you guys ever have a normal year at Hogwarts?"

The three looked at each other and thought it over. "Third year until the end…" Ron said.

"Seventh for me. Without these two distracting me I was able to just relax," Hermione teased.

"Sixth. Third had the Dementors. The Draco thing was strange and so was Dumbledore's stuff but I kind of felt like I was normal that year," Harry said.

"Yeah, he's right. Minus me almost dying," Ron said.

"Still the most normal then," Harry said.

"Hey!"

"Face it, Ron. You probably could have died every year we were in school," Harry said. Ron thought back to it and couldn't disagree with it.

"I'm telling you guys. You guys NEED to write books," Daphne said. "Or collaborate and write a book. Like this is just so interesting. Why haven't you told people?" Daphne asked.

Hermione answered first. "There are things I haven't told my parents. There are certain things that people can't know at this point. It's just a mix of everything. Maybe one day. Throwing all that information out there right now might end badly," she said.

Ron nodded. "We broke a lot of school rules. I think some real laws too. Not worth going into," Ron said.

Daphne looked crestfallen. "Sorry. I don't mean to be rude it's just that there were always crazy rumors about you guys. I didn't believe half of them until the Tri-Wizard Tournament," she said blushing.

"Why then?" Harry asked.

"Well first year there was nothing concrete. I know you did something because we lost the House Cup. Something happened second year. I know it's with the Chamber of Secrets. I never believed you were the Heir of Slytherin though. Well I did for about a week," she said babbling.

"Why for a week?" Harry asked.

"Well wouldn't it be the most Slytherin thing ever to be in another House to no one expects you. More I thought about it, it didn't make any sense. Other than Draco you didn't really hate anyone, and Malfoy wasn't petrified. Third year I know you learned a Patronus. I mean you did it at a Quidditch game when Draco was being dumb. Can you tell me if it's true you fought off fifty Dementors at least?" she asked looking at Harry.

"I don't know the number. I think it was all of them so about a hundred," Harry said.

"You beat a hundred…how…I just…I mean yes you killed a Dark Lord but my third year I was still working on making a lizard into a book. Maybe it was a book into a lizard. Anyway, I just…wow," she said. "Sorry," she said blushing.

"I wouldn't worry about it. I had Ravenclaws come up and ask me things all the time," Hermione said.

"You did?" Harry said.

"Yes. I never said anything but there was a rumor mill going," Hermione said.

"People needed hobbies," Harry said.

"Oh, so anyway…it was the Tri-Wizard Tournament I started to think more things were true. I still have no idea how you summoned that broom and then flew against a dragon," Daphne said. "I mean Snape always kept saying how much of a dunderhead you were. I think at some point I accepted it as fact," she said.

"Yeah, Snape…that's a conversation for another night. What do we have for dessert?" Harry asked.

Hermione brought out a cake that she had bought, apologizing for not having enough time to bake. The rest of the evening went well. Now that it was winding down Hermione and Ron kept their questions to a minimum and soon enough it was time to leave. There were promises to do this again. Harry and Daphne popped back to her apartment.

Daphne immediately collapsed on the couch. "I've had job interviews less intensive," she groaned. "Food was amazing at least," Daphne said kicking off her heels.

"It wasn't that bad," Harry said coming up to her and rubbing her back.

"True. I thought they'd make fun of me and then kick me out," Daphne said.

Harry was taken aback. "Did you really?" he asked.

"Not seriously but it was in my head," she said blushing.

Harry didn't say anything to that. He just kept rubbing her back.

"I'm sorry. I upset you," Daphne said.

"No. I just don't understand what goes on in your head. I'm happy you're sharing with me,"

"It does feel nice to have someone to talk to about it. I mostly just talk to myself," Daphne said.

Harry nodded and filed that away. He needed to talk to Andromeda tomorrow. He didn't like that she seemed to down on herself. It might be pointless, but he had to try. "You can always talk to me,"

"Okay," Daphne said not quite believing him. She did feel better. She couldn't talk to her family like this. Even Astoria would get too upset when she talked about her thoughts. Maybe she could trust him, maybe. "Are you going home?" she asked as she started to play with her hair.

"I was planning on it," Harry said.

"If you like, you could spend the night," Daphne said not looking at him. Her heart was pounding.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "I don't…I might not be ready for that," she said. "I'd like to at least sleep close to you,"

"As long as you're sure," he said pulling her into a hug.

"I am. This feels nice. I've never done anything like this before. I mean…I've slept in the same bed as Astoria. No one else," she said her heart pounding.

"I won't do anything you don't want,"

"I know. I just…I appreciate it. You've been patient. I've been good too. You sure that you're fine with all of this?" Daphne asked.

"I'm totally fine with this," he said.

"Then let's head to bed," Daphne said walking to the bedroom. She grabbed her pajamas. "I'm just going to change in the bathroom quick," she said not wanting to totally expose her body to him. "What are you doing Daphne. You're going to trust Harry. You should trust Harry. He was nice tonight. His friends were nice. Hermione was really pretty, people made fun of her hair and teeth too much," she said babbling.

Harry could hear her through the bathroom door. He tried not to listen in but he couldn't help it.

"Might be worth talking to her again. She's a bit much but when we talked about Harry she was relaxed. It would be nice to have other friend," Daphne said wiping her make-up off. "You'll be fine,"

Harry thought about saying something but held back. He didn't want to embarrass her. He found the talking to herself odd. It wasn't like she was carrying on conversations with herself. He started to get out of his clothes down to his boxers and shirt.

Daphne came out of the bathroom wearing her silk pajamas and smiled at him. "You look nice," she said.

"You look great," he said looking her over. It was more then what Ginny would wear but he didn't care he was just happy to spend the night with her.

"Let's go to bed," she said smiling.

 **Please Review**


	9. The Mini-Breakdown

**A/N: This will likely be my posting pace from here on out. Saturday or Sunday updates unless I'm off during the week and can find time to write. There may be multiple updates next week since it's Thanksgiving or possibly a longer chapter. For the most part expect about an update though. Thanks for all the kind words and reviews, they do mean a lot to me.**

 **Chapter 9**

"I'm sorry Harry. I'm afraid I don't know too much about muggle mental health. I've never really had to use it," Andromeda said. They were chatting over lunch.

"You don't know anything?" Harry asked.

"I know about therapists and I know there are pills they can put people on to try to calm them down or even their mood. I'm not sure how much more effective they'd be then a potion. I'm sorry. It's just not something I've had to deal with,"

"Even with Bellatrix," Harry said.

Andromeda blushed. "That was mostly my parents. We all knew Bella was a little…spirited. I'd just recommend not doing what my parents did,"

Harry snorted. "Well thank you anyway. I'm just concerned about her," Harry sighed. He had to explain everything that he could to Andromeda and couldn't just hide it from her.

"I understand. My suggestion is, just take her to a muggle doctor if you're concerned and if she'll go. They'll know more than I do,"

"I'm not sure if she'd be willing to go," Harry countered.

Andromeda nodded at him. "I understand. At this point, it's up to Daphne. She needs to decide that she needs help. You can't force it. Have you talked about this with her at all?"

"No. I know she gets embarrassed about it and doesn't like it," Harry said.

"Just think about it and talk about it with her. I know you're concerned but it's not something you can control. Daphne is the one who needs to decide. You just can't force her," Andromeda said.

"Even if I'm afraid she's going to hurt herself?" Harry asked.

"Are you?" Andromeda asked raising her eyebrow.

"No," Harry sighed and threw his head back in mild frustration.

"Just talk with her. You'll have to take it by ear. There's no correct way when it comes to handling this," Andromeda said. "If you're reconsidering this relationship…"

"I'm not," he cut her off. "I just don't want her to have to suffer for no reason," Harry explained.

"Admirable. Just be careful. It could be very trying on you," Andromeda said.

"I will be," Harry said turning his attention towards Teddy, trying to move to happier things.

Daphne had really wanted to join Harry to see his Godson, but he said that he needed to talk about some personal things with Andromeda. Probably her. It worked out okay because Astoria wanted to meet up. She was finally back from her honeymoon and wanted to check in. Daphne didn't know why. She had mailed her every day to tell her that she was fine.

Astoria wasn't having any of it though and wanted to talk in person. Daphne supposed that it could be worse. Her mother could be there.

Daphne apparated to Malfoy Manor. Astoria had wanted to meet here. She and Draco were staying here for now. Both had lived with their respective parents before, it wasn't an issue given the size of the manors. She was fairly certain her sister would want some space soon.

She walked up to the door and rang the bell.

"Mistress Greengrass?" a house elf asked.

"Yes," Daphne said.

"This way," the house elf said and led Daphne to the dining room where both her mother and Astoria were waiting for her. Dammit. Daphne debated if it was worth it to just run the other way.

They both looked at her and Astoria, who was behind Emilia mouthed 'I'm sorry'.

"Daphne, it's wonderful to see you again," Emilia said. "I've been worried," she said.

Daphne sighed and sat down. "I don't…I've been busy," she said trying to remain vague.

"I've been worried. I know you've been busy...I read the Prophet," Emilia said. They hadn't really talked since the wedding and much like Astoria she had so many questions.

"What? We just go out to dinner. Not like we ask for someone to follow us," Daphne shrugged.

"I'm…how did he take everything? I know I wrote you, but you were being, well, Daphne," Astoria said wondering how the hell Potter didn't run the other direction.

Daphne's eyes narrowed, and she glared at her. "We get along well," Daphne said. "He's sweet, I like him. He's nothing like anyone said. Even his friends are nice," Daphne said as elves brought out their drinks.

Daphne wasn't surprised to see only water for herself. They might not say anything at the wedding, that was over though. She knew it was better anyway. Her status would prevent some of the comments about her weight, for a bit at least.

Personally, Daphne didn't feel that there was anything wrong with her body. She wasn't really fit but she wasn't really fat either in her eyes. A little bit heavier for certain. The issue was when she was feeling bad she'd often overeat or opt for desserts. Then she'd be stuck in bed for days which helped up her weight a bit over where it should be.

It wouldn't have been that much of an issue but her mother was tiny, as was her sister. Then you had people who she was sure felt that she wasn't good looking enough for Harry. No one was saying anything but there had to be people out there. She'd think it if she saw someone like her with Harry.

"I understand dear. I'm just concerned for you. You know the spotlight is going to be on you all the time. What if you two break-up? What if you get married? Will you be able to deal with that scrutiny?" Emilia asked.

At that comment Daphne started to freeze up. She hadn't thought about that at all. Not totally true, she had thought about the inevitable break-up time and time again. She could have her fun now. In six months or so he'd find another witch and move on. That was bad, and she could deal with that. Getting married would be a thousand times worse.

Her leg started to shake, and she shifted and squirmed in her chair.

Astoria glared at her mother. "What mom is trying to say is that these are things you need to think about. Harry hasn't been the type to move on from woman to woman. He may be looking and thinking more long term. It's just good to start considering that,"

Daphne could feel her mouth dry up. She nodded and was doing her best to control her breathing. She couldn't lose it around her mother and sister. She just needed to grin and bear it. She couldn't think about what any of this meant long term. She didn't even know what Harry was thinking.

She knew that she didn't want to lose him. At the same time, the thought of moving further along with him was utterly terrifying. She'd rather be back in school where everyone just thought she was a disappointment.

Astoria could see that this had been a bad idea. She hadn't meant for their mother to show up. It was just supposed to be a light chat, gauging how Harry was treating her and if she'd be able to deal with being his girlfriend.

Emilia was trying to stay strong. She knew how her daughter was. All she was trying to do was make her daughter see what could happen. Daphne needed to understand that this wasn't just some random fling that if it went bad she could move on from. No matter what happened there were going to be repercussions.

"I'll be fine," Daphne said. "I don't know why it's any of your business anyway,"

"I'm just concerned. I just don't want this to be another…" Astoria started.

"Another situation where you have to rush in and save me," Daphne said. It was easier to focus on her anger now then the other stress she was feeling.

"I don't want to save you. I'm just concerned when I don't hear from you. I know it's not your fault. Do you think I wanted to interrupt my honeymoon to check on you?" Astoria shot back. She just felt like her sister was being ungrateful.

"That's just it! I never asked you to! I just…I just…I can take care of myself," Daphne said, glaring at them.

Neither woman at the table believe that for one second. Daphne could take care of herself for a good long while. It didn't matter. At some point she'd start to feel sad and then not do anything. Emilia hated it. She only wanted the best for her daughters and had tried everything, but nothing had worked. There was just a constant worry in her that something would happen with Daphne that she or Astoria couldn't fix.

"We know that," Astoria said trying to smooth this over. "We really do. We're just concerned about you. Is there anything that we need to be concerned about?"

"No! Harry is sweet. Nothing like Draco or Snape said. He's kind, his friends are nice, and he cares about me. He even spent the night a couple weeks back," Daphne said defiantly. They hadn't actually slept together but she was going to let them draw their own conclusions.

They both drew the obvious conclusion. Astoria's face turning a light shade of pink. Emilia wasn't happy about this. She felt her daughter should have waited until marriage. Oh well, nothing to be done about it. It wasn't like they had a marriage contract out on her or would in the future. She and her husband had gauged interest after the wedding and it was the same tepid response they always received.

"That's good, I'm glad that you're comfortable with that and with him. I really am," Astoria said.

Daphne hadn't wanted to say that or imply anything. They were just making her so mad that she had to say something to show them she wasn't some delicate little flower. "I'm an adult. I appreciate everything, but I promise you both that I'm going to be fine," Daphne said.

Astoria just nodded as their food was served. They sat in silence for a bit, all three Greengrass women alone with their thoughts.

"So, did he ever find anything interesting in the Chamber of Secrets?" Astoria asked earning her a glare from her mother.

"What? I heard the rumors. I'm just interested if there was anything down there. Doesn't seem fair that a lion got to see our houses secret room," Astoria said.

"I…don't know for sure. He hasn't mentioned it. There are also some things that I can't talk about," she said.

"Oh?" Emilia asked raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing bad. Just like personal stuff. Forget that I said anything about it," Daphne said having calmed down and now starting to get nervous they'd push her.

"All the rumors are true?" Astoria asked.

"What rumors?" Emilia asked. She had heard a few herself from other parents but had never gotten anything concrete.

"It would take too long to go into. I can't say if they're true or not," Daphne shrugged. "Maybe he'll start saying things one day," she added in thinking that for someone was private as Harry it was unlikely but anything could happen.

Astoria gave her mother a look that said she'd tell her later. The rest of the lunch was pleasant enough. Daphne left as soon as she could promising that she'd love to see them again but secretly hoping it would be months before they would do it again.

Once she was gone Emilia and Astoria relaxed a bit and started to talk.

"This is going to end horribly," Emilia said pouring herself a stiff drink.

"Probably, for what it's worth he seemed nice enough when I went to check up on her,"

"That's not enough. Your sister needs to realize that this can go badly,"

"I think she realizes it mom. When have you ever known Daphne to be an optimist? I think she's just hoping it goes well. Nothing we can do to stop it either. Do you really think daddy would be able to intimidate Harry Potter?"

"No. That's why we haven't even tried. The Malfoy's are no help, he kept them out of Azkaban and you are a Malfoy now. Meaning that as Lord Black he could ask a lot of you," Emilia said trying not to focus on all of her little worries.

"I don't think he will. I think he will if we interfere anymore then we have," Astoria chimed in.

"You're right about that. You'll keep talking to her at least?"

"Of course. She's my sister. I'd do it anyway. I just won't say anything negative about Harry, for no reason. From here on out that's it I suppose," Astoria sighed. "I'm going shopping, want to join me?"

"Yes, it'll take my mind off all this," Emilia said gulping down the rest of her drink and going to get ready.

Daphne had apparated home and was pacing her apartment. As defiant as she might have been around her mother and sister, she couldn't shake these nagging feelings either. She was breathing heavily. She was also trying not to panic. Something she wasn't doing well; her hands were shaking a bit.

"Oh merlin, what if he does want to get married one day? What if he wants this big fancy wedding. Ron and Hermione are having a big wedding that's not even that fancy. Astoria's wedding was huge and fancy. I'll just be walking somewhere and people will ask me questions. What if they find out where I live? No, no, no," she cried and collapsed onto the couch. She pulled a pillow tight to her and tried to control her breathing. It wasn't working at all.

She really wanted to just go and hide for a little bit. Then she remembered that Harry had said she could contact him about anything at all. She bit her lower lip and walked over to the fireplace. "Harry…are you there?" she asked after opening the connection to his apartment.

"Harry!" she shouted. She shouted a few more times but there was no response. She was just about to give up when she heard him walk in.

"Harry? Is that you?" she asked.

Harry walked over to his fireplace quickly. He realized that it was Daphne immediately. "Everything alright?" he asked.

"Can I come over?" she asked nervously.

"Sure, just floo over," he said.

Daphne did just that and Harry could immediately see that something had happened. She looked more pale than usual, overly nervous, as if any bit of stress would break her. He instantly regretted not letting her come with him.

"Do you think we'll ever get married?" she asked right away, not thinking about it.

Harry was taken aback. "Uhhh what? I mean…I…maybe…someday. Why?" he asked rubbing her back.

"I just…the thought of marriage just scares me. It had lunch with my mom and sister and they brought that up that it might happen one day and I…I don't know…" she said. Her breathing was getting more rapid and shallow.

"Daphne, I honestly don't know. I know I like you. If we get married would that be bad?" he asked not really understanding the problem.

"Yes! Because people would be talking about me. They'd be looking at me. I'd have to go up there. I'd trip walking down the aisle. I'd be that woman. People would say things. Oh merlin," she said shaking a bit more and looking very scared.

"Daphne. All that stuff…okay tripping walking down the aisle probably won't happen," Harry said. He was really unsure how he was supposed to deal with this. He felt lost. Daphne did come to him this time instead of just doing this in her apartment. He felt that was some sort of progress.

"How do you know? How do you know any of it? Bad things happen Harry. Bad things happen to me all the time. I'll forever be the woman who marries Harry Potter. Then makes a fool out of herself every chance that she gets," she said starting to cry a bit.

"Hey, hey, Daphne," he said holding her close and rubbing her back to try and calm her. "That's not going to happen. Even if it does I won't care," he said.

"But…"

"No. I won't. Things happen. I won't care. People shouldn't care either. I know that bad things happen. Probably more than anyone,"

"Oh Merlin, I'm sorry I didn't mean to imply that I had it worse because you obviously did you lost your parents I'm such an idiot. I'm soooo sorry," she rambled on. Harry wasn't sure if he should stop her or not. He could only listen to her put herself down for so long. After about three minute he had to interject.

"Daphne. None of what you're saying is true. You're not an idiot. You're a smart person. I know you can't see that right now, but you are," he said.

"I just feel like I'm not good enough for you," she said looking down.

"I know. I get that feeling from you. You are good enough for me. You're good enough for anyone you want. I do enjoy talking with you and spending time with you," he said. "You just can't see it because of something you can't control," Harry said.

"I know. I want to control it. I just…I get so stressed then it feels like I'm going to burst, then I cry, or do something like this and make me look stupid," she said.

"It's not your fault," he said. Harry debated with himself for a few moments. This could backfire on him or she could be more receptive as opposed to when she was feeling well.

"Daphne. I know you've gone through a lot of wizarding treatments for all of this. I was just wondering if you might want to try seeing a muggle doctor about this. I know I've mentioned it before a bit. I just hate seeing you like this," he said.

"You want to fix me," she said growling and moving away from him.

"Fix isn't the right word. I want you to be well. If I hadn't walked in, what were you going to do?" he asked.

Daphne softened a bit and thought about it. "I would have gone into my bedroom. Sobbed for a bit, ate a ton of ice cream, ordered pizza, and then hoped it was better by tomorrow," she said. Her shoulders were slumped.

"Do you think it would have been?" Harry asked.

"No," she mumbled.

"I don't want to fix you Daphne. I like you the way you are. I just think that you might benefit from something. If it doesn't work, then it doesn't work. I just don't think it's healthy that you turn yourself off to the world when something like this happens," he said.

Daphne didn't say anything. She just took the time to think over his words. She doubted that a muggle healer could actually help her. She was hopeless and helpless. She had known that for years. On the other hand, Harry was right. Her job had been understanding so far but if she missed anymore time she could be fired. Not the biggest issue given her family money, but it would just prove that she couldn't do anything on her own.

"Do you think it could actually help me?" she asked seriously.

"I don't know. I've never gone to one for anything like this. I've barely gone to muggle doctors at all. I think if there's even a slight chance it might help. I think you should at least examine it. Just see one and if you don't like it. Then that's it. I'll never bring it up again. I just don't like seeing you hurting," Harry said.

Daphne stayed quiet with her thoughts and let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll go to one but that's all I promise," she said. She sincerely doubted that it would help. She did hate feeling bad so much of the time. Maybe it would work or maybe it'd be like that African Witch Doctor her parents had tried. That memory made her skin crawl.

"It won't hurt?" Daphne asked.

"It shouldn't," Harry said pulling her into a hug.

"What was that for?" Daphne asked smiling a bit.

"For being you. For trying," he said.

Daphne smiled back at him. A large part of her mind still felt like this was hopeless. There was a little flicker of hope awakening in her. Maybe, just maybe he life wasn't as lonely and hopeless as she had assumed it would be.

 **Please Review**


	10. The Mistakes

**A/N: Didn't get as much written as I would have liked. Plans changed and such. Still I'm happy with this chapter. Thanks for all the kind words and reviews!**

 **Chapter 10**

Daphne didn't want to be here. She really didn't want to be here. She'd rather have been at Hogwarts when Snape was Headmaster. That may have been a little much. While she wasn't targeted at all, there was a horrible feeling in the air the entire time there. She had been lucky, and she knew it. Her normal response of laying low had worked perfectly.

The doctors' office really wasn't that different from a Healer Office. Though, one might call the doctors a bit more modern. It still filled her with a sense of dread. The first twenty times she went to see a healer she didn't mind it. However, as she didn't get better and as her parents grew more and more frustrated with every answer they got, it stopped being okay.

Her parent would get silent, talk in hushed whispers, and she knew that it was her fault for it. She didn't mean to be the way that she was. She did want to just be normal, feel normal, and ask normal. It never worked though. Every time that it didn't work just meant that her mother or father would look up someone a little more crazy then the last.

The Zulu which doctor had been her least favorite. Being put in a pot of near boiling water hadn't been too bad. Putting the top on it to try and steam all the bad thoughts out of her head.

Then there was the Polish witch who thought that hanging her upside down for a few days would reopen the magic and blood flow to her head.

Daphne had known that these people were quacks. She was also sure her parents knew too but they were desperate and had a lot of money, a very lethal combination. All the legitimate healers just said that she was touched in the head and would either grow out of it or require calming potions. The calming potions had worked for a bit and they still worked a bit but only if she knew it was happening.

Daphne had tried taking them everyday and results weren't great. She couldn't take them everyday without feeling sick and she'd have to take a potion three times a day to make it through the whole day. It was easier to attempt to take it when she felt bad but often it would take too long to calm her down.

"How are you feeling?" Harry aske as they sat in the office waiting for the doctor.

Daphne just shrugged. "No clue. It's better then the last ten times at least. Muggle doctors don't hurt, right?" she asked.

"Not really, needles sting a bit. I don't think you'll need to worry about that," Harry said.

She smiled back at him weakly. She loved that Harry was trying but she needed to make a few things clear to him. "If this doesn't work or leads to nowhere, please tell me you're not going to keep trying to take me places like this," she said.

Harry looked at his girlfriend and thought it over. He nodded. "I'm not going to bring you to places like this if this doesn't work. It doesn't mean that I'm not going to look for new ideas but only legitimate ones," he promised.

Daphne let out an exasperated sigh. "Please. I know you care but I don't want to have to take off to just be told I can't be cured," she sighed.

Harry just looked at her and nodded. "I promise I'm not going to do this every week or drag you anywhere. If this doesn't work, then I'll drop it. Just keep an open mind?" he asked.

"I will, I want to get better," Daphne said.

Harry believed that she wanted to get better. He also believed that she believed she was hopeless and this was pointless. She wasn't really sabotaging herself on purpose, she just needed some hope.

"You don't believe me?" she asked giving him a look.

Harry wasn't sure to say but thankfully for him there was a knock on the door.

"Hello Ms. Greengrass, I'm Dr. Montgomery," he said walking in. He was older than they were by a good twenty years but didn't look it. "How are you doing today?" he asked smiling at them.

"I'm here so…" Daphne shrugged.

"Fair enough," he smiled reading the chart the nurse had provided. Daphne hadn't really been sure how to deal with all the questions and getting her stats checked out by the nurse. She mostly just sat there waited for it to be over.

"So, you're having issues with mood swings?" he asked.

"Yes," Daphne mumbled obviously not happy talking about it.

"How long have they been going on for?" he asked.

"Long as I can remember, honestly," Daphne said.

"And how bad are they? And how often?"

Daphne started to mumble a bit. Harry decided to cut in. "It's on and off. She can go weeks and be fine. Then if it's high stress she can be unable to get out of bed for a week,"

That earned him a bit of a glare from Daphne. She'd have to talk to him about that later. "That's about right. I had trouble in school with it," she blushed.

"Did your parents or anyone from the school ever try any treatments?" he asked.

"No, my parents are a bit old fashioned in that regard," Daphne said. Since she had never seen a muggle doctor she thought it best to start fresh. Not like he'd know anything about her other treatments.

Dr. Montgomery didn't look happy about that but politely said nothing about her parents. "Do you have any headaches or dizziness? Slurring of speech?" he asked.

"Not really, why?" Daphne asked.

"I'm just trying to rule out if it's something physical or not. Do you remember or have your parents said if it happened suddenly?"

"No. I'm sorry. I just know that I've just always had times where I get really nervous and anxious. Then I start to worry, and I feel really bad and don't want to do anything," Daphne said chewing on her lower lip.

"I see," he said taking down a few notes. "Have you noticed any kind of personality changes? Making rash decisions? Feeling manic?"

Daphne shrugged. "Not really. I've been this way more of my life. I'll feel fine. Then I start to just kind feel bad about myself," she said looking down. "Like I'm feeling really nervous right now," she blushed.

"I can see that," he said noticing the way her leg bounced. "Don't worry. You're doing great," he assured her smiling.

"Thanks, I'm just not used to talking about it," she said not meeting his eyes.

"The important thing is that you want to get help now. The good news is it doesn't sound like you have anything physically wrong with you. No headaches or dizziness. I don't think we're looking at anything surgical,"

"So, what does that mean?" Daphne asked looking up.

"Well I'm thinking that we'll try something to help stabilize your mood. Do you often get more depressed or would you say more manic?"

Daphne wasn't totally sure and looked over at Harry for some help.

"I wouldn't really say manic is much of a problem. I've mostly seen her depressed and anxious," Harry said. "We've only been dating for a few months," he added in.

"I'd agree. I feel like really great sometimes but it's mostly after I've been laying in bed for a week," Daphne said feeling more secure in her answer.

"So more depressive," he said to himself and thinking about it. "How often do you get anxious?" he asked.

"I guess I feel that all the time. I just worry. I just always think something is going to happen. My last…episode was when we were going to dinner to meet his friends. I got nervous and felt horrible," Daphne said obviously nervous.

"Okay, are you seeing a therapist or counselor?" he asked.

"No. I wasn't sure if it would help and well my boyfriend thought this would be the better place to start," Daphne said.

"Not wrong. It's good to rule out anything physical plus I can prescribe something for the anxiety. I want to start there. See if we try and nip that in the bud. I'm going to prescribe Xanax, have you heard of it?"

Daphne shook her head no.

"It's a common anti-anxiety medication. It's a good place to start,"

"To start?" Daphne asked.

"Yes. For symptoms such as yours it can take a bit of work to get the right dosage. It should help you. You may feel more drowsy or tired," he said.

"Why?" Daphne asked.

"Just some common side effects. You might take it and not have any side effects. They are there though," he said.

"Anything bad?" Daphne asked feeling nervous.

"You may feel tired, more sad, irritable. You may also get more clumsy. I'm going to start you on the smallest does, three times a day. I'd also suggest a therapist. If you can learn some techniques to help you manage your anxiety,"

"The pill just won't fix it?" Daphne asked.

"The pill will help and even with therapy you may still need it. I've just found that some people have had good success with therapy," he said.

Daphne looked glum. She didn't like the idea of this at all. In fact, she felt that everything that had just happened was a waste of her time. This was the best they had to offer? It was just a doctor visit and it didn't provide her any more clarity.

"Yeah, sure," she sighed.

Harry could tell that Daphne wasn't happy. She had been expecting something more out of this. Some sort of magical cure, he chuckled at that thought. Instead, she was told that pills and a therapist would help.

"Here you go, and I'd like you to make an appointment for next month," he said.

"Why?" Daphne asked pouting.

"Just to check on you and make sure that it's working," Dr. Montgomery said.

"Okay, I'll call in when I know my schedule," Daphne said taking the slip of paper and shoving it in her purse.

She and Harry left the office in silence. Harry was too worried to say something, and Daphne was stewing at him. Sooner then he would have liked they were back at Daphne's apartment.

"I'm so…" Harry started.

"No. You had…I know you were trying to help. This is nothing more then a calming potion," she hissed threw her purse onto the couch.

"It might work better," Harry said.

"Oh, how do you know? I've been doing this for years. This is pointless," she said seething.

"I don't know. Maybe it's different from a calming potion. Maybe talking will help. I don't know if it will, but it hasn't been tried yet," Harry said.

"Because you know SO much!" Daphne screamed. "I've been living with this my whole life! It's a part of me," she said. "I don't know why I even agreed," she said.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help you," Harry said starting to lose his patience. "I took the day off work. I just thought that it would help. If it's affecting your life I just wanted to see if it would help. You're not even willing to try!" he shouted back.

"Because it's pointless. This is just another name for a calming potion!"

"Well have you talked to anyone about this?!"

"There's no point! Have you ever talked to anyone about your problems," Daphne asked placing her hands on her hips.

"That's not the point,"

"I think it matters,"

"I'm just trying to help my girlfriend. I don't want to see you sad," Harry said trying to stay calm, but his patience was being tested.

"I'm fine. This is me. If you don't like it then I don't know what to tell you," Daphne said feeling the full mental strain of the day.

"I just think…"

"I don't care what you think! You don't know what you're talking about! You've never done this. You said it yourself! I went! I tried! It's not going to help!"

"But you didn't try! You're not going to even try the medicine or try talking to someone. You're just giving up," Harry shot back.

"I'm not giving up! I'm just accepting of things,"

"You shouldn't have to accept it,"

"Life isn't perfect Harry! You of all people should know that. I might just have to live with this! We don't know!" she screamed.

"I'm just trying to help you! Do you want to have mood swing?"

"Did you want to live in that cupboard?" Daphne said snidely. Her eyes went wide as soon as the words left her mouth. It looked like she wanted to say something else. She couldn't find the words. "I'm…"

Harry glared at her and just shook his head. He didn't say anything else and just left. He slammed the door hard leaving a trembling Daphne.

She stood there for a minute before the tears started to come around. Her lower lip trembled, and she curled up into a ball on the couch. She started to sob loudly, and hit her head against the cushions. "How could I be so stupid?" she asked herself. She had just been so angry. Her nerves were frayed. She just wanted him to accept that there was no hope for her. Then they fought, and the words just came out.

"Merlin, You're an idiot Daphne. You're just. How can you be so dumb? He tells you something personal and you throw it in his face," she said to herself.

"He was stressing you out. It shouldn't matter. I just…I like him and I've ruined it. He's going to break-up with me and I deserve it! How stupid can I be?" she asked herself. She didn't say anything else. She just lay there sobbing on and off for about an hour or two. She wasn't really sure but it was starting to get darker.

She kept her lights out to match her mood. She thought about maybe asking her sister for help. She shook her head. Astoria would be comforting but there would be a lot of 'I Told You So' moments from her. She didn't need that right now. She could write Tracey. They had been talking more the last few weeks. Daphne shook her head. She didn't want to open up about everything. Once again, she was alone.

She was starting to shake. That was enough to made her get up to take a calming potion. She doubted it would help. It was worth a try. She took it and lay back done. Her mind was racing. She wanted to talk to Harry to try and smooth this out. She doubted he'd even want to see her. He'd just slam the door on her face and never want to see her again.

Daphne was squirming. She got up and started to pace. She needed to talk to someone. "My co-workers? No, I hate those bitches," she said shaking her head. She couldn't believe she was about to do this. This was stupid. This was so stupid. What if Harry was already there? She couldn't even tell her what she had told him. She didn't know, and Harry would just hate her more if she told.

She was desperate and Harry wasn't an option. It was going to be worth the risk. Tears still rolling down her face she took some floo powder and walked over to the fireplace. "Uhhh Hermione? Are you in?" she asked shaking. Her heart was racing. This was dumb, this was dumb. Being alone was better. She was about to pull her head out of the fireplace when Hermione appeared.

"Daphne? Are you alright?" Hermione asked.

"No. I…I did something dumb. You're going to hate me. I know Harry hates me," she sniffled.

Hermione was taken aback by this. She had been friendly to Daphne last week, offering a chance to talk. She hadn't been expecting something like this. "Did you and Harry have a fight?' she asked.

"Maybe," Daphne said feeling sick. This was awful. Hermione was going to yell at her. She should just be alone. "You know what I don't think…"

"Come over," Hermione offered. "I promise that I won't judge. We'll just talk,"

Daphne thought it over. She was chewing on her lower lip and shaking. Being alone seemed nice. Her apartment was dark and cold while Hermione's home had been warm. "I'm coming over," she said pulling her head out of the fireplace and flooing over.

Hermione's concern intensified as she saw Daphne step out. She was curling in on herself, shaking a bit. She looked like a mess.

"Daphne, what happened? Would you like tea?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," she said glumly and sat down. She eyed the fireplace. She might have to make her escape quick. She thought she could apparate out but she wasn't sure of the wards. Running for the door might work too if the yelling started.

"Now what happened?" Hermione asked, putting the kettle on and walking back to the scared blonde.

"I yelled at Harry. I said something bad. He was just trying to help me. I didn't mean to yell. I just, he was making me mad. He needs to understand that it doesn't matter, he can't help me,"

Hermione was confused but was able to decipher enough. She started to gently rub Daphne's back. "Hey, it's okay. Arguments happen. Ron and I used to argue all the time," she said.

"I ruined it though. I said something…I can't tell you what I said but he won't forgive me," Daphne said slumping.

"What exactly happened today? You can tell me. I won't judge," Hermione said.

Daphne looked at her unsure.

"Okay I'll do my best. I won't take sides,"

"Yes, you will! I hate what I said to Harry. I'm sure that he hates me. I hate me," she sobbed.

"Just start at the beginning. What can you tell me?" Hermione asked.

Daphne sniffled a bit and thought it over. "I went to the doctor today and Harry went with me. I'm having…issues. I don't think it matters. I thought the advice was pointless. Harry disagreed and then I said something bad to him. About him being weak,"

Hermione just listened. She didn't like that Harry was hurt but it was obvious that Daphne was regretful over what had happened. "What exactly did you say?" she asked.

"I can't tell you. I'm sorry. It was something Harry told me," Daphne said.

"I know everything…"

"You don't know this. He said so. Just trust me," Daphne plead.

Hermione didn't believe her at all. "If you say so. If that's the case then give him some space,"

"That's it?" Daphne asked not quite believing it would be as simple as that. "I was rude and horrible. I don't know why I said what I said. I just felt mad. He was pushing me. I'm just stressed and today sucked. I was hoping for good news. It's just an endless fight," she sighed rubbing her temples.

The kettle whistled, and Hermione looked at Daphne. "I'm just going to get the tea," she said standing up. "Just hold that thought," she said pouring them each a cup and bringing them over for the two of them.

"Do you need anything to eat?" Hermione asked.

"I'm fine. I just feel sick," Daphne said.

Hermione nodded. "As I was saying. Give Harry a day or two. I've done and said things to him over the years. Ron has too. If you admit that you're wrong he's more likely to forgive you. You were in the wrong, correct?"

Daphne bobbed her head seemingly unsure. "Eighty percent my fault and twenty percent his. He was trying to help. He should have dropped it. I shouldn't have said what I said," she gulped rocking herself back and forth a bit.

Hermione nodded and continued to comfort the girl. She was unsure why Daphne felt the need to reach out like this. Looking at the blonde just made Hermione feel like she needed a hug. If she did something that bad to Harry, she'd be bad later. For now, she was going to comfort her the best that she could.

While Daphne had gone to Hermione, Harry had gone to the Auror Training grounds to work out some offensive spells. Blowing up a few dummies always made him feel better. Normally he did a fair amount of damage to them but tonight hew as blasting them away with Confringo after Confringo.

Harry did that for about an hour, until he could feel himself getting tired. He did feel a little bit better. He was sweaty, exhausted, and hurt. He debated going out to get a drink. He didn't feel like being around anyone and he had a bottle of firewhiskey at home.

Harry went home and poured himself a large glass and took a sip. He sat down on his couch and started to replay his day in his head. He had honestly wanted to help Daphne.

Daphne. The name brought a stabbing feeling to his heart and stomach. He had just been trying to help her. He only wanted to help her. If she just listened to him, none of this would have happened and they'd be spending a lovely night together.

He hated her. He missed her. He never wanted to see her again. He wanted to see if she was sorry. His head was a jumbled mess.

Daphne had taken something he had told her, something so he could feel closer to her, and just thrown it in his face. Even if she didn't mean to, she had done it. Was it even worth trying to talk to her? She was the one who had insulted him.

There was a little niggling feeling in his head. That little voice in the back of his mind. He looked at the glass and took another sip from it. He was telling Daphne to get all this help. Did he need help too?

His hands started to shake a bit. They hadn't done that for years. It had started for a bit after the war. He had been able to get over it. Did he though? It was easy enough to talk about some old stories. The end of the war and aftermath were too hard to think about. He took a large gulp and poured himself some more.

It was so easy when he wasn't thinking about it. When he was thinking about it, walking up to him, in the forest, knowing that he had to die.

Harry was starting to hyperventilate. He was trying to return his focus to Daphne. It was easy to hate Daphne. It was easy to love Daphne. He drank a bit more. He had been ignoring these thoughts for years, but they were still there.

He tried to push those thoughts from his mind. Daphne should be grateful. He was just trying to help her. He wanted his girlfriend happy. If he didn't give her a push then she wasn't going to try to get better.

Another thought hit him. Maybe he had pushed a bit too hard. After all she had gone and was feeling down there was no simple cure. Would muggle medicine be more effective? He wasn't sure about that. He was also certain that the only people who knew were ones who had tried both. The doctor said it might take time.

He remembered being in that tent when it seemed like the war would never end. When they'd never be able to defeat him. He had wanted to give in then, but he was able to keep going. It was his destiny after all.

Daphne had nothing like that to keep her going. She was just living with it. She doesn't know if it'll ever end for her. Harry remembered feeling like that. The first few months after the war before joining the Auror Academy he had felt like that. He still felt that way every now and then. When he thought about it. When he couldn't block the bad parts of his memories. He had been able to tell her about his relatives the other night because he knew that it was over. He trusted her not to tell.

He gulped down the rest of his drink. The alcohol was hitting him now. He lay down on the couch as the weight of the day hit him. He'd talk with her after work tomorrow. He had to hear what she had to say.

Daphne was laying in her bed trying to read. Talking with Hermione had helped her. It had helped her far more than she had anticipated. Even though she was Harry's friend she was still willing to listen. Daphne still felt anxious but it wasn't the crushing anxiety that she often felt. Talking to Astoria led to this feeling on occasion. It wasn't Astoria's fault it didn't work all the time, she tried. There were just certain things she felt she couldn't talk to Astoria about. Such as, their parents, how she felt about certain people, relationships. Yes, relationships were the worst. Her family made such a bit deal out of them. Even if it was just talking about a boy she liked. It was as if they assumed she'd just date someone and marry them.

Daphne hated when people made a fuss about her. Hermione did but it was in a nice way. "Hopefully Hermione is right and you didn't ruin this," Daphne said to herself. She'd love to talk to Hermione again without being in the middle of a breakdown.

Daphne thought back to the doctors' appointment. It might be worth trying that muggle medicine. It might be stronger. She had the money for it. The side effects bothered her, but it wasn't like she didn't feel a little woozy after a calming potion. She sighed and put her book down. It was still a bit early. She wasn't tired yet, but she just needed to think. If Harry wanted to talk tomorrow she needed to be ready. She started playing scenarios in her head and going over everyone. If she was prepared with what she had to say it would go better, she was awful on the spot. She just hoped that Harry would accept her apology. He had to accept her apology. He had to hear what she had to say.

 **Please Review**


	11. The Truth About Her

**A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews over the last week. The one bit of news is that I've found someone to help me edit. Editing is something I struggle with so having a second set of eyes should help. We'll also be going back and cleaning up previous chapters as well over the next week. The content will not change, it will just be fixing some grammar and spelling errors I missed.**

 **Chapter 11**

Work was dreadful for Daphne. It wasn't always dreadful, at least not the way it had been in the beginning. Sometimes she was amazed at how rude muggles could be to someone over the phone that they called for help. A few wizards she knew would have taken that as another way wizards were superior to muggles, but she knew that those few wizards were more than ready to throw a curse to get something they wanted.

Daphne had debated just calling in for the day, she knew that wasn't an option. She had taken far too many days off over the last month. It was just a job, but she didn't want to be fired from it. Daphne wasn't sure if being fired would really be that bad. It wasn't like she loved what she was doing. She had more than enough money to just quit. However, she also knew that she needed a reason to leave her house and get out of bed.

Between school years at Hogwarts her parents didn't always force her to go places. They forced her to go to some parties she couldn't miss or doctors' appointments. Otherwise, they left her and Astoria alone which meant that she barely went out all summer unless forced. It wasn't healthy for her to only go out to walk around a little bit every now and then.

This was most due to her anxieties about life. When Astoria, or Tracey invited her to go somewhere she would normally say yes. Daphne had a limit, she knew that anything more than four hours would start to grate on her nerves. She mostly accepted it, it was nice to go out and have a fun time. If Astoria was with her friend, or Tracey was too busy to go, Daphne found it vey hard to get herself to go out on her own. It didn't help that she didn't have many other friends. She had been desperate enough to go to Diagon Alley with Pansy one time. The less said about that, the better.

Vague worries of people judging her for being alone went through her head. Along with the idea of some horrible crime happening to her because she couldn't properly defend herself. It was just easier to stay in the manor, in her room rather than go out somewhere without her sister or friend.

As Daphne left work she thought about her friend. They hadn't seen each other in person in months. It wasn't either of their faults. Tracey had gotten a job in another country. They could have used portkeys or other methods to visit but Tracey always wrote about how busy she was. Daphne didn't want to bother her, and her letters gave Daphne the vibe that Tracey wasn't really interested in being her friend anymore.

Logically she knew that wasn't true. Tracey had a very demanding job where she was working over ten hours a day and was just too tired. It didn't stop Daphne from feeling like there was some gulf between them, even though they shared at least three letters a week when Daphne was feeling well.

Daphne would have preferred not thinking about that relationship too much, but she needed to do something to take her mind off Harry. Just the thought of his name made her stomach churn with guilt. She had left a note in her apartment in case he came over to see if she was there. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. She didn't want to come on too strong and ruin what little chance she had. Sitting around seemed like a horrible idea as well. Weren't you supposed to fight for the people that you loved? Pansy had done that with Draco. It didn't work out at all, but she did try.

Daphne walked up the stairs, hoping Harry would be outside her door or inside her apartment waiting for her. She didn't believe he would be, she had to hope. She could have just popped in but there were times she liked taking the muggle way. Plus, it would look quite strange if no one ever saw her entering or leaving her apartment. She wasn't sure if people would actually notice this. Still, it was best not to draw too much attention to herself. People could be busy bodies when they felt like it.

Unlocking the door, Daphne entered her apartment to find it the same way that she had left it this morning, minorly disorganized. If Harry had been here he hadn't touched anything. She checked the time, it was 5:21. Daphne chewed on her lower lip and started to walk around her apartment to think this out.

"I could just go over. Would that be the worst thing? He might need another day. What if he's working? Is he working today? I can't remember," she said trying to busy herself by making something to eat. "Maybe just checking on him would be good. Maybe he's not that mad. He's going to be mad," she said.

"The only question is if he'll reveal all your secrets," Daphne said and stopped in the kitchen, she no longer found herself hungry. Would Harry really do that? No, he wouldn't. He had told her too much. Not that she'd ever reveal anything, he'd never risk her spilling secrets.

What if all those secrets were a lie? What if this was just one big prank to earn her trust? What if this was the plan all along? Just make her love him and then humiliate her publicly.

Daphne could feel herself starting to circle the drain and had to pull herself back. She went to the pantry to take a calming potion. No cooking tonight. She needed to relax. "You're going crazy. Harry has done nothing except be sweet," she said laying down on the couch.

"He could be up to something. You never know," she said back to herself.

"He wouldn't have taken me to the doctor if he didn't care," she said as the appointment started to flood into her memory again. She wasn't sure about the Xanax. If it would just calm her down she didn't see a point to it. The therapy idea was starting to enter her head again.

Daphne knew it wasn't normal to talk to yourself like this. Her mother and sister had told her that enough times. She knew she was going to have to swallow her pride. The calming potion was helping her just enough, but she knew that it wasn't enough. She knew she needed more help. She didn't want to do this but she knew she had very few options at this point. A muggle therapist was not an option. They wouldn't understand. She couldn't talk freely around them. Astoria and Draco wouldn't understand either. Her parents, for as much as they tried to help and understand, wouldn't understand this situation at all. She took a deep breath and walked over to her owl. She couldn't just come out and say this, it was going to be too hard. This was straining the foundation of her relationship and it wasn't going to be fun. Writing it out would be easier, she started to write to the one person who could help her.

################

Harry had been in an awful mood all day long. Daphne's words still rested heavily on his mind and he had a mountain of paperwork to do. Oddly enough, the respite did help him a bit. It was nothing but busy work, it was something he needed today. No one was talking to him and he could just bury himself in it and easily forget what had been said last night.

That had worked until about noon, he had finished everything in record time. His mind had started to wander to Daphne and what he was going to do about that situation. She hadn't tried to contact him yet. He was thankful for that. He still needed more time. He was going to talk to her when he could. It was just something he didn't want to deal with first thing in the morning.

The rest of his day went well if rather dull until they got an alert. He and Ron had to go into London to deal with a wizard who had lost control of his Cornish Pixies in a department store. His whole afternoon was checking every clothing rack until they re-captured all of them. When it was all said and done 57 muggles had to be obliviated, and half the store had to be fixed up using magic. They now had a box of 42 pixies they had to deal with.

"Who would take a box of pixies with them?" Ron had asked. Days like this seemed to solidify his decision to leave the Auror Department. He still had to tell Hermione what he was going to do. Part of him thought that he should just tell her today, but she was so busy with the wedding. He wasn't leaving the department until after, they could discuss it then. He was certain she'd understand.

"I have no clue and of course it had to be a department store. Couldn't just lose them in a big empty room," Harry grumbled.

By the time Harry was able to get home it was 7:24 and he exhausted. Part of him had expected and hoped to see Daphne there waiting for him. He was disappointed when she wasn't. "Maybe I should go over there," he asked himself. "Maybe some food first," he said. He was hungry and that would help his mood. Besides she should be the one to apologize to him. She needed to make the first move.

Harry started to cook when he noticed there was a pecking at his window. Apparently, the owl had been sitting there just waiting for him. He recognized it right away as Daphne's owl. Harry wasn't sure if this was a thing good or bad thing. He could feel his heart start to pound as he opened the letter, not sure what it was going to say.

 _Harry,_

 _I am truly sorry for what I said to you last night. I didn't mean what I said. You're right to be mad at me. I know that I was wrong. I'm sorry. I also realize that maybe some help would be good for me. If you're still interested in being with me. I want to talk to you. You can come over to talk. If you're not interested in talking or seeing me again, please do not respond and I will move on._

 _Love,_

 _Daphne_

Harry read it and made a face. This was his out. She was giving it to him. All he had to do was ignore it and he'd never have to see her again. He knew he didn't want that. He didn't want to just ignore her and move on with his life. He knew he was about to do something incredibly stupid. He had done incredibly stupid things enough in his life that he knew the feeling. He decided that he was going to do this anyway. He wasn't going to waste time.

He would just floo in directly, she had given him permission to come over when he wanted. He walked out of the fire place and saw Daphne curled up with some blankets. She looked shocked to see him actually show up.

"I'm sorry," Daphne said right away. Her heart was pounding. Her legs were shaking just a bit. She had prepared herself for a shouting match.

"Why did you say it?" Harry asked trying to keep his emotions in check. He had gotten better at it over the years.

"I just blurted something out," Daphne said looking down feeling guilty. "It was a long day. I felt like it had been pointless. I still don't think the pills will help," Daphne said. Harry opened his mouth to interject, Daphne kept on going. "I know you think they're worth a try but I'm just not sure. I do want to try something," she said shifting uncomfortably.

"What do you want to try?" Harry asked sitting down next to her.

"I do think I want to give therapy a shot," Daphne said. Her entire stomach was lurching and saying everything aloud brought the full weight of everything down on her.

Harry was surprised to hear this. She had been so anti-therapy yesterday. "Why? I'm not saying don't do it. I'm just shocked that you're that willing to go and try it," he said.

"Harry, I spent the evening talking to myself about you. I've known this isn't healthy for years. I'm also talking about actual conversations. I do it a lot. I don't know if that's good or bad. I just feel like a bundle of nerves all the time. I want to be able to be a normal girlfriend and do normal things with you. I'm sorry for being short yesterday. You're right that I need to try something. If therapy has a chance to help and help me find what's wrong with me. I think it would be worth it," Daphne said.

Harry sat back and listened to her words. He nodded as she spoke. "I think it might help. I am sorry for pushing you yesterday. I know it was hard for you to do that. I also know you were disappointed. I shouldn't have pushed as hard as I did. I just want you to feel good. Do you ever feel good about yourself?" Harry asked.

Daphne blushed red and mumbled something. She really didn't want to get into this conversation now. Merlin, she felt sick about all of this. He was still looking at her, she shrugged at him. "Sure," she said.

"What do you mean by 'Sure'? How do you really feel about yourself?" Harry asked. He was getting the feeling that he was treading on dangerous ground but he felt it was going to be worth it. He had gone a hair too far yesterday. He knew her limit and while he was going to push her a bit he wasn't going to force it.

"I don't know. I'm just me. I'm just Daphne. If I didn't come from the right sort of family, then I'd just be uninteresting. I'm kind of uninteresting now. I don't know why you're even dating me," she said getting to the heart of the matter.

On some level, Harry knew that she had felt this way. She had said enough small self-deprecating comments while he had been with her to know that this was bubbling underneath the surface. "Tell me what do you think of yourself. I promise I won't judge you or interrupt," Harry said.

Daphne sat there for five minutes to collect her thoughts on the subject. She hated this. Why was Harry making her do this? Was he looking for reasons to leave her? She could just ask him to drop it. "You promise this isn't some joke?" she asked.

"I promise. I also forgive you for yesterday. It hurt a lot and I'm not totally over it. You didn't mean it. I'm also sorry for pushing you like I did," he said to trying to remind her why she should trust him.

"Fine," Daphne said. "On a good day. I feel I'm okay. I'm not great. I'm not horrible. My body isn't the best. I know what I look like. I'm not exactly what you'd call sexy. There are days where I think I look good but I know I'm a bit too plump. My nose is a hair large. I don't hate how I look every day. There are some days that I do. Taken alone, I'm alright. When you compare me to my sister or other people I feel like I'm hideous. I don't know why you're dating me. I just accept that you're dating me despite my obvious flaws," she said taking a breath.

"I have these horrible fits of depression. I don't understand why you didn't run the other way. Everyone runs from me but my family. Sometimes I feel like that's only because they have to help me. I hate that I'm like this. I hate that I get nervous. I hate that I can't do normal things like a normal person," she said. "Certain things that make Astoria flutter with delight scare me to death. I know that I'm not a catch. Part of me just thought I'd be single forever. I feel pathetic. Like I was staring at you from the moment you walked into that pub. I knew who you were and I just…I was never going to talk to you. You're Harry Potter. You should be with someone who is better then me," she said finishing up. There were tears rolling down her cheeks.

Harry's immediate reaction was to tell her that she was wrong about everything. Part of him knew he couldn't just convince her by forcing it down her throat. Instead he just wrapped her into a tight hug and rubbed her back.

"That's really how you feel?" he asked.

Daphne nodded. "I try not to, but I keep comparing myself to Ginny," she admitted.

"You've never met her,"

"I see her pictures in the paper all the time. I look like a fat monster next to her," she said rubbing her hand on her thick thighs.

"You're not though. You are beautiful. Besides she's an athlete. She needs to be as tiny as possible. You look great. I like how you look," Harry said.

"You've never seen me naked," she pointed out. She started to blush. She hadn't wanted to open that can of worms.

"I've seen you in tight dresses. Not the same I know. It's still close enough," Harry said.

"It's not the same and you've been so patient with me. I'm grateful for that," she said. "The fact remains that the idea of doing…naked things with you. That scares me too," Daphne said once again feeling uncomfortable.

This didn't surprise Harry at all. Given her unwillingness to even sleep together clothed for such a long time obviously meant that she wasn't comfortable with the idea. He wasn't sure if that had been Pureblood upbringing or something else. It was probably a bit of both.

"I know that you worry about that, but I don't. I have had sex with Ginny. Not going to lie about that. You don't need to compare yourself to her or anyone else. When you're ready you'll know it,"

"You'll get tired waiting for me. The idea of sex is both erotic and scary to me," she admitted looking down.

"You let me decide if I'll get tired. I don't want you to force this. I want you to want it and enjoy it. If you have some issues to work out first. Then I can wait," Harry said. "Right now, let's focus on finding you a therapist," he said. The sex discussion would wait for another day. He now knew what was going on in her head. It bothered him she thought so lowly of herself.

"It can't be a muggle therapist obviously. I don't know where to start looking," she said.

"Does St. Mungo's have any sort of therapists? Would they be mind healers?" he asked.

"Not that I know of," Daphne said.

Harry nodded. "We'll just either have to find you one then. I'm sure we'll be able to," he said realizing he had never heard anyone talk about them. That didn't mean there weren't any. It just meant he was going to have to ask around. Harry knew who he was going to have to ask.

"I think I know where to start looking. I won't mention your name. I know some people who might know something about it," Harry said.

"Who?" Daphne asked looking puzzled.

"The Weasley's," he said. "They never talked about it, but you remember what happened with Ginny our second year," he said.

Daphne winced remembering the message about her body will lie in the Chamber of Secrets forever.

"Did she ever mention seeing anyone after that?" Daphne asked.

Harry shook his head. "No, but I feel that's my best place to start. Between that, their dad almost dying, and Fred dying. I don't know if they did find someone to talk to. I just think those people are the most likely ones who would know of any wizarding ones. It's possible Hermione's parents know someone who might help. They are doctors. Slight chance they might know of another muggleborns parents who is a therapist," he said.

"You won't mention my name?" Daphne asked whimpering.

Harry nodded. "Between everything I've been through in life. I don't think anyone will question that I'm looking for me," Harry said wondering if maybe it was a good idea to find his own therapist too.

Daphne nodded and cuddled up to him. "I am sorry. I'm sorry I'm this way and you have to deal with this," she said.

Harry started to play with her beautiful blonde hair a bit. "Don't be sorry about me having to deal with you. You make me happy. This is the happiest I can remember being despite everything. Just please don't mention the cupboard again,"

"Agreed, I am really sorry about that," Daphne said resting her head on his chest. She felt at peace. She wasn't sure if Harry would be able to find anyone to help her. She still didn't feel great about herself either. Still, when she was cuddling up next to Harry she felt all her worries melt away. This was better than any calming potion.

 **Please Review**


	12. The Weasley-Granger Reception

**A/N: Thank you once again for all the reviews. Only thing I want to touch on here is that I know a few people thought that Daphne being a virgin was a cliché and to an extent it is. The only reason she is a virgin is because I'm writing her as more depressed and anxious. Had I written her with a few more ups then down and made her more of a risk taker, she wouldn't be. I just felt that for this version, it made more sense she was a virgin.**

 **Chapter 12**

"He's really going to bring her to the wedding?" Ginny asked sighing.

"Yes. I don't know what you expected," Hermione said shaking her head.

"That he wouldn't keep dating her this long," Ginny admitted stretching her legs out a bit. It was the night before the wedding and as Hermione's Maid of Honor she was back home, relaxing with her sister in-law to be.

"Ginny, you two broke up. I don't know why you suddenly care. You've gone out on your fair share of dates," Hermione said. "Do you want to get back together with Harry?"

"No," Ginny said letting out a sigh. "It wouldn't work out. I'm just…he deserves someone amazing. Not someone who blends into the wall," she said lying a bit. She didn't care and thought they might just work out. She'd never admit that to Hermione.

Hermione did her best not to roll her eyes. "She's very nice I'll have you know. Personally, I think it's good for Harry,"

"Really?" Ginny asked pouring herself more wine, not believing what Hermione was saying.

"Yes. The biggest issue when you two were dating was that…Harry isn't just someone who wants to go out every night. He's also not someone who wants to have the spotlight one him. It's always been forced," Hermione said.

"That's true," Ginny said remembering the fights they had about that. "I should have pulled back on that a hair," Ginny admitted.

"Yes, you should have. It's over with now. Is Daphne a bit odd? Sure. She's not blood supremacist though. Honestly, she's more muggle then me," Hermione mused.

"How so?" Ginny asked. She was looking for any information she could get her hands on. Part of her had thought she and Harry would work their way back to each other one day. This was her chance. As long as Daphne was around, it was making their prospects look more doubtful.

"I don't know. She's just, she's not like you or me. I don't want to say she's small. She's just very shy. She cares for Harry. Harry cares for her. Anxious. I don't know what about. She's just anxious," Hermione said shaking her head. "I wish I had known more about her at Hogwarts. Do you remember anything about her?"

"Not a single bit. I can't remember her saying one word," Ginny groaned.

"There you go. I wouldn't worry about it. Harry isn't going to make it awkward," Hermione said.

"I know. I just…feel like I missed my chance with him," Ginny said.

"You're not going to make some big scene at my wedding? Are you?" Hermione asked glaring at Ginny and daring her to say yes.

"Of course not!" Ginny said shaking her head. "I couldn't imagine doing that now. Someone would sell the story. I just…I miss him sometimes," Ginny said. "I know it wouldn't work. I guess…I just miss him sometimes. It's hard to explain,"

Hermione rubbed Ginny on the back. "I understand. Just be happy that he's happy," Hermione suggested.

"I'm trying. I just always imagined a future with him where the four of us were all together. I just don't know. It's complicated," Ginny said. "I promise I won't make a scene or do anything,"

"You won't confront Daphne either," Hermione said not wanting to give her an inch.

"I wasn't planning on it. I won't but if she talks to me…" Ginny trailed off.

"She probably won't. She's not that kind of woman," Hermione said not wanting to say anything bad about Daphne. She didn't truly understand everything about Daphne. That didn't mean she was about to try and sink a relationship. Harry seemed happier…well she had never truly seen Harry happy. He was close with Ginny, but he always seemed to have the weight of the world on him. The fact that he seemed lighter meant that Hermione was going to support this relationship for as long as Harry wanted it.

"That's good at least," Ginny said.

"If anything, she might find you a bit intimidating," Hermione said.

"She's the star struck type?" Ginny asked.

"I wouldn't say that. She's just very different. If you talk to her, you'll understand. Just be nice, it's my wedding," Hermione said.

"I'll be good," Ginny promised as both of their minds moved to tomorrow.

##############

Daphne wasn't sure about going to the wedding. She was going no matter what, she knew that. She just wasn't sure if going around that family was a good idea. It would be the first time she would be meeting most of them. She knew that the Weasley's were important to Harry and she wanted to make a good impression.

She knew that Hermione liked her. At least, she was fairly certain that Hermione did. She was a little strong but not in a bad sort of way. Ron was friendly too, something she was immensely thankful for. Part of her had been sure that Ron would think she was just some snake who wanted to get with Harry to present him to a new Dark Lord.

Everyone else was a wild card. That scared her to death. At the last wedding she had been in a position of power. No one was going to say anything to her. No one there was foolish enough to say anything to Lord Potter-Black either.

She was walking into a Lion's Den. Not just a Lions Den. THE Lions Den. Add in a good portion of attendees that were muggles and it was enough to make her heart beat outside of her chest.

Part of her wanted to beg Harry not to go. She knew that wasn't possible. Harry was the Best Man. It would have been like her skipping Astoria's wedding. A sense of dread started to overtake her. Ginny was going to be at this wedding. Perfect Quidditch Ginny. The Ginny that Harry still had feelings for.

"He does not," Daphne said to herself as she readied herself for bed.

"How do you know?"

"Because if he did, Harry would have broken it off and went to the wedding with her. He could have easily found her," Daphne replied. She winced, she had been trying to stop doing this. Her efforts hadn't been successful thus far.

They hadn't made much progress on her mental health front. Harry had wanted to ask the Weasley's but given everything that was going on, he was holding off. A quick check at St. Mungo's had also revealed that no such thing as a mind healer existed. At least in the way they had wanted. There had been plenty of healers who were willing to try mind bending spells which made Daphne wary. It had likely made her parents wary too and while she wasn't happy with some of the less elegant attempts to help her, at least they hadn't let someone enter into her mind and poke around.

It seemed like a therapist was her best option and that made her nervous. Daphne wasn't sure she just wanted to talk to someone about the very private parts of her life. She had problems doing that with Harry. She promised herself and him she'd give it a try and she was going to follow through. She said she'd try it for a few months. That was it. The commitment wasn't crazy. They just had to find someone for her to talk to.

That could wait until after the wedding. Daphne had been living with this for years, what was another week or so to find someone. Sure, she wanted this to be fixed right away but she had given up on a magic bullet.

Daphne found that funny. She lived in magic and breathed magic. She had given up on finding some magical and easy fix for her. Whatever was wrong with her wasn't common enough to just fix. She wished it was but wishing could only get her so far in life.

Daphne sighed and finished laying everything out for tomorrow. Harry had to go there early, and it was agreed that her arriving later would be for the best. It was going to be a long day no matter what and adding a few hours to this wouldn't help her already frayed nerves.

################

The wedding was beautiful. Daphne was impressed by what Hermione and Ron had chosen. It was like Astoria's but nicer in a different sort of way. In some ways it was more tense due to people trying to hide their magic from Hermione's side of the family. It wasn't an overly large group of Grangers but large enough to cause problems if people decided to start shooting off spells.

Daphne sat in back the whole time. She had stopped and said hello to Harry who seemed as bored as she was to be in a wedding party. She found it fair game. People for the most part didn't notice her, she had dressed to that effect. Her dress was nice, but it wasn't the nicer than anyone else's. She blended in perfectly and no one was bothering her. It was perfect.

What wasn't perfect was the Maid of Honor. Daphne had known that she'd be there. Based on everything that she knew about Ginny and Hermione, there was no way it would be anyone but Ginny. She was beautiful. Daphne knew that she was athletic and would be in great shape but part of her had hoped the pictures were underselling her beauty. They were not underselling anything.

It made Daphne squirm a little bit. She liked her body for the most part. It just didn't help that her softness was being compared to the strength of a Quidditch player. Daphne knew that it wasn't a fair assessment, but Ginny was Harry's ex. She's what he could have if he still wanted her. Luckily for her, Harry didn't want Ginny. He wanted to date her.

Daphne did her best not to worry about it but that little nagging voice in the back of her mind kept on saying that there was no way she was good enough for Harry. Another voice told her she was being crazy. That voice had been getting louder lately. It still wasn't enough to make her fully believe it was true. It was still something that wasn't there before.

The overall ceremony went quickly, which Daphne was thankful for. It was sweet, but it was also a hair boring. As soon as it was over Harry came over to her and they made their way over to the reception. They didn't really have a chance to talk, everything was going as fast as a whirlwind. Daphne just felt like she just had to go along with the flow.

The reception was lovely. It was overly lovely in fact. She wasn't sure what she was expecting but it had bypassed her expectations. Once again, it was different then the last wedding. This one had tents and loud music. Astoria would have died and that made Daphne smile inside.

At some point Oliver Wood was talking about trying to get a Quidditch match together. Something that wasn't as insane as it seemed. Most of the old team was there. Harry and Hermione were trying to get him to drop it, but he was just sure that Hermione could put up a charm that wouldn't make the muggles notice them.

Daphne took that as her cue to leave for a bit. It was a lovely afternoon; the sun was just starting to go down and it was perfect to go and get some air. She and Harry had barely spoken today. Part of that was how busy he was and part of that was her not wanting to say the wrong thing in front of everyone.

Ginny hadn't said anything to her either, something she was thankful for. As she walked she started to feel more at ease. It wasn't anyone's fault that she needed air. She was just around too many people for a long time. It was enough to get to her. Daphne may have craved companionship, that didn't mean she didn't enjoy her alone time either.

A thought entered into her mind, what would her and Harry's wedding be like. She knew that it was foolish to think about. She didn't know if Harry saw that in their future at all. The idea of a smaller ceremony was starting to enter her head. The thought of her just running off and getting married, no one around, just the two of them still seemed the most likely. However, for the first time, she was starting to think that a real ceremony might not be a bad thing.

It scared her that she was starting to think like this. Her hands shook a bit and she felt a little sick to her stomach. "That's a good sign Daph," she said to herself. She knew it was just because the thought of doing anything like this was scary. Maybe having someone to talk to would help. She often kept everything inside, talking to Harry always made her feel better. Her mood swings had been less extreme recently. She didn't put too much stock into that, she had periods like this before and they always crashed and burned, because she was Daphne.

"Wanted to leave before Wood tried to stick you on a broom?" a male voice asked from behind her.

Daphne nearly jumped out of her skin and turned around to see her grinning boyfriend staring at her. "Don't scare me like that. I thought that you couldn't with all those muggles around," Daphne said slowing her pace to let Harry catch up.

"We're not but that's not going to stop him. I think his plan is to wait them out. Once enough are gone put up a charm and head over to the pitch. Hermione suggested soccer and I think a few people had strokes," he said walking up and putting his arm around her.

"I'm actually kind of sad I missed that," Daphne said.

"Yeah, well…how long have you been walking?" Harry asked.

"Just a bit,' she said.

"Feeling okay?" he asked not wanting to ask if she was having a bad day or not.

"I'm doing well. Not great but…it's a lot. I don't like stuff like this. It helps that people seem to be ignoring me mostly. I've noticed people looking. That's expected but no ones tried to talk to me really," Daphne said.

"I think you can thank Hermione for that,"

"How so?"

"I don't think anyone wants to create drama at her wedding. She doesn't look it but she can have a mean streak," Harry shuddered.

"How would talking to me create drama?" Daphne asked.

"Just swarming you, I think people just worry they'll say the wrong thing. Hannah was like that around me for a while. She's still like that but I prefer it that way," Harry said.

Daphne nodded, knowing how Harry felt about certain Hufflepuff's. "It has been nice, I'll admit I don't think I'd be able to deal with twenty people asking me things about myself," she said shifting a bit at the thought. "Did you ever think about getting married?" Daphne asked. It was a bit of a dangerous question, but she had to know his thoughts on the subject.

"Not really. I don't know," Harry said a little confused. He had started to get used to questions coming out of nowhere with Daphne. "I just…I never thought about it. I did a bit when I was dating Ginny. That was about it though," he said wondering if she was thinking about marriage now.

Daphne nodded and left it at that. He wasn't imagining anything in his own head about it. It was silly to think that they were going to get married. They weren't close to getting married. It wasn't on Harry's mind yet. She wasn't even sure she wanted to get married. Weddings just messed with her mind.

"Good to know," Daphne said. "I am having a lot of fun today," she said trying to change the subject.

"You are?" Harry asked. "I wasn't sure,'

"I am," she nodded. "It's been great today. It's been nice to get out. I know I don't always act like it's great," she admitted. "But I am having a good time. It's a bit stressful but I don't feel like I'm spiraling. Is that why you came looking for me?" Daphne asked suddenly feeling annoyed. She wasn't five, she didn't need a nanny.

"Yes, and no," Harry said. Lying to her was going to do no good for anyone. "I was concerned it was a little much for you. That's because it was starting to get to me. I also wanted to spend a bit of time with the prettiest girl here," he said leaning down and kissing her neck.

Daphne let out a delightful squeal. She wasn't overly happy that he had been worried about it. At least it wasn't his primary concerned. He just wanted to spend time with her. It made her feel like the prettiest girl there. "Well I'm glad that you did. I think you look handsome today yourself," she said relaxing against him.

Ginny watched the scene with a bit of anguish in her heart. She had noticed Harry going for a walk and had wanted to talk to him. She wasn't planning on trying to get back together with him. At least, not on a conscious level.

She hadn't heard what they had said but just watching the, their mannerisms, it was obvious that they cared for each other. Ginny could never imagine walking away from a party like this unless it was to get frisky. That didn't seem to be what either of them wanted. It wasn't the main goal at least.

They would never work. Ginny had known what when they had broken up but there had been some vague longing inside of her that said that just maybe they could have worked their way back to each other. That was over. Even if she went down there right now and proclaimed her love to Harry, it was over. He might pick her. Her declaration might be enough to get through to him. It might be enough to make him reconsider. It would do no good in the long run.

Even if he did reconsider everything about her. She couldn't change who she was. He wouldn't change who he was either. It hurt. Part of her hated this blonde bitch. Who was she even? Just some spoiled rich girl. There was nothing interesting about her. Ginny was more athletic, better looking, that was the first thing Ginny had noticed, Daphne was nothing but a chunky blonde who she would never describe as sexy.

Harry didn't agree with her. His hand was not moving down to Daphne's rear and giving it a grab. The girl jumped and squirmed a bit but didn't move away. Ginny turned around and started to walk back to the reception. She didn't understand it at all. She doubted that she ever would. She could have brought any number of men to the wedding with her. She just realized that she hadn't done that because in the deepest part of her heart, she thought that this would be the next chapter in her and Harry's love story.

It wasn't going to be. It was never going to be the next chapter. They were over. It hurt but not as bad as Ginny thought it might have. Harry was happy. Harry was going to be happy. She wasn't going to make Harry happy in the way that Harry needed to be happy. Maybe if he had gone professional with her after school. Maybe if she had taken a ministry job. All she had now were maybes.

Behind her Daphne and Harry were starting to kiss deeply. Daphne was slowly starting to open up and admit that Harry made her feel good. She wouldn't say it aloud but that was how she was starting to feel.

"Let's get back," Daphne said feeling lighter. Part of her was concerned that this might be a mood swing. She felt that it was real though. She actively wanted to try and get better for him. She didn't know what she needed to do but she'd find a therapist. It might help and for the first time since she was a child, she felt like she deserved to be happy.

"Agreed," Harry said happy that Daphne's day seemed to be going well. It was a good day for the both of them.

 **Please Review**


	13. The Therapist

**A/N: After this week's update I'm not certain how it will be next few weeks. It will be Christmas and New Year's soon so there might be an update and there might not be. I'm also not working my full schedule the week of Christmas so there might end up being a longer update at some point during that week as well. It's up in the air, at the moment. Thanks for all the reviews and kind words.**

 **Chapter 13**

Daphne was going to be sick. She was sure that she was going to be sick. No amount of calming music or fake trees in the lobby could do it. It had taken Harry a few weeks since the wedding to find this place. Daphne wasn't quite sure how Harry had done it. She had tried to look for someone herself but being her that meant that she was too scared to really look.

"There are plus sides to being Harry," she said to herself. She was fidgeting a lot. She was the only one in the waiting area. There wasn't even a secretary. She couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It meant one less person who would see her. It also seemed a bit odd that the person felt they could deal with everything themselves.

Daphne checked the clock, eight more minutes until her appointment. She could just walk out. She saw a bookstore down the street, a café, she could hide out for a bit. Harry wouldn't know. He had offered to come along but she wasn't ready for that yet. He was sweet, but this was a case of being too sweet in her mind. She had to do this alone, no matter what.

Even if that meant looking over some boring magazine to kill the last seven minutes until she was going to have to go in and meet this woman. This woman who she had never met and was expected to just tell her about her entire life or talk about anything. Daphne rocked back and forth a bit. Maybe retail therapy would work. It worked in the past for her. It was always a temporary fix.

Daphne stood up and was prepared to walk out. It would be easier. What would a little white lie to Harry really do? She got about halfway to the door when what bravery she had kicked in and she moved back to sit down. She took a deep breath. It was going to be fine. This person wasn't going to bite. At least that's what she hoped. She stood up again and actually made it to the door, before once again moving back to her seat.

She sat in silence, bouncing in her seat until she heard the door open and the previous patient walk out. Daphne looked down to hide her face. This therapist apparently took both muggle and wizarding clients, according to Harry. Harry, that was something to focus on. She had the upmost faith in him. It was actually kind of scary. She had no faith in her at all, she didn't know why Harry cared so much. It didn't make any sense to her. She was able to trust Harry and his decision making though.

"Daphne?" a well dressed brunette woman asked her.

"Yes, hello," Daphne said smiling and shaking her hand. "Thank you for fitting me in," she said as they walked into the actual room. Daphne's legs felt like jelly the entire way there.

"Nice couch," Daphne said sitting down and relaxing as much as she could.

"Nice to meet you Daphne. I'm Cheryl May. Thank you for coming in today. Have you ever done any therapy or counseling before?" she asked reaching for some papers.

"No, I haven't. New to this," she said blushing.

"That's fine. There are just a few things I must go over with you. Now everything you say here will remain confidential. If you start talking about hurting yourself or others I do need to notify the authorities,"

"I understand. My boyfriend filled you in on my special…abilities," Daphne said thinking that made sense. Nothing too bad so far.

"Yes. I have to admit I was surprised to be talking to Harry Potter. Most of my contacts come from people who live mostly muggle lives," Cheryl said.

"Yes, well, he was raised by muggles and nothing magical has helped me. Why did you decide to pursue a muggle career?" Daphne asked. If she was going to talk to this woman she wanted a bit of information.

"My dad is a muggle and I did go to Hogwarts through fifth year. Just enough to take my OWLS. After that year I found that all magical career paths didn't appeal to me. I spent a few years getting caught up on muggle school before attending University," she said.

"Any reason you didn't care for the Wizarding World?" Daphne asked, the woman was a bit older than her. Their paths would have never passed at Hogwarts.

"Even though by the time I was in school the war was over I just never felt like I fit in enough. I didn't want to work for the Ministry, a woman like me would never be able to get ahead. Are you still primarily in the Wizarding World?" Cheryl asked.

"Yes and no. Do you read the Prophet at all?" Daphne asked. "Well of course you do, you know all about Harry Potter. What do you know about me?"

"I know that you're dating Harry Potter, your sister had a lovely wedding, and that's about it. I don't read it religiously. Just enough to keep up to date. I haven't gone looking for you either. I don't like to have preconceived notions,"

"Thank you for that. I do live in the muggle world. I work a phone job," Daphne said.

"Do you like it?" Cheryl asked.

"Yes and no. I need to work. Well I don't need to. I have money. I'm sure you're aware of that," she said. Cheryl nodded at her to continue. "Anyway, I do want to learn more. I want to run my own business someday maybe. I don't know. I want to do something where I'm in charge. I can do it, people don't believe in me, but I can do it," Daphne said.

"What do you mean when you say that no one believes in you?"

"I don't know," Daphne said squirming a bit. "My family. They treat me like glass,"

"Why do you think that is?"

"I've had a lot of break downs in the past," Daphne sighed starting to feel sick.

"Have you ever been on any medications or potions?" Cheryl asked.

"I take a lot of calming potions and I saw a muggle doctor who prescribed something, but I haven't started taking it yet," Daphne said.

"Was there any reason you went to a doctor first instead of a therapist?"

"I was more willing, and I didn't know. I thought they might have had something that could help," Daphne sighed. "They had nothing of course. I mean maybe the medicine is different. I just don't think it'll help," Daphne sighed throwing her head back.

"That's fair. You've mentioned break downs; can you tell me more about those?"

Daphne chewed on her lower lip and shifted again. "I don't know. I just…I go through periods where I just feel sad and I don't want to get out of bed," Daphne admitted, trying to control her breathing.

"That sounds like it would be very hard for you. Do you try and fight through or what do you do?"

Daphne shrugged and started tug on the fabric of her blouse. "I try but it's hard. It's like…I just want to go and be normal and do things. I can't. I just feel so bad all the time. I don't like it at all. I want it to stop but once my mind starts to race I panic and I just want to hide in bed. Like I almost left here a few times while I was waiting," she admitted, blushing and eyeing the door.

Cheryl nodded. "I understand. This is a big step and it can be very scary. I'm glad that you decided to stay. I want to help you work through whatever issues you have. You say you don't like living like this. You can change it," she said.

Daphne snorted. "How? I've tried everything," she said glumly crossing her arms.

"You haven't given this a try yet," she said smiling at Daphne who blushed and looked down.

"Point made. So, what exactly do we do?" Daphne asked wanting to move on.

"We talk, whatever you want to talk about and whatever is on your mind. I'm here to help you work through your issues. Whatever you want you can talk to me about. If you're not comfortable you don't have to answer. I might push you for an answer but I'm not going to force you," Cheryl said happy with how this was going so far. First meetings were always awkward but Daphne seemed to be relaxing a bit.

"Okay that's not so bad…uh so this also includes anything I may say about Harry, right?" Daphne asked.

"Yes, unless you tell me that Harry is planning to commit a crime or hurt someone," Cheryl said.

"Could that even hold up legally if you're a muggle doctor contacting the Auror's?" Daphne mused.

Cheryl chuckled. "Luckily it's never come up. I don't think they'd care that much though since I can do magic," she said.

"Fair enough, my mind just works in odd ways. I look for loopholes. I think it's something I picked up from dad,"

Cheryl nodded. "So, what would you like to talk about, what finally brought you to therapy?"

"Harry," Daphne sighed. "I was perfectly happy being miserable then I met him and asked him out. Then he learned that I was crazy and he's been trying to help me be less crazy,"

"Why do you think you're crazy?"

"I had a break down. We were supposed to go over to his friends' house for dinner and the stress got to me. When we did end up going it was fine, but I was just…in a total panic state for about a week. He came over and my sister came over too and it was a thing and I'm amazed he even wants to be with me," she said shaking her head a bit.

"Why are you amazed he wants to be with you?" Cheryl asked picking up on her feelings on her relationship.

"He's Harry Potter. You know what he's done. He should be off dating a model. I love him. I do. He's sweet to me. He likes me. I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm just waiting for him to wake up and realize that he's wasting his time with me," Daphne said looking glum and sniffling a bit.

Typically, Cheryl didn't like to push new clients in their first meetings. That could force them not to seek further help. Cheryl was intrigued and felt a small nudge would be okay. "Why do you think that? What is so bad about you?"

Daphne stayed silent for a moment. "I'm me. I'm chubby, my nose is too big, I'm too pale. I'm a nervous woman, I'm a little clingy. I have all this baggage, people hate baggage. My family has money, but he has that too. Astoria is the one who will inherit and be the head of the family when my parents die. I'm just…I have nothing to offer him. I can't even please him how men like to be. I'm too nervous," she said her breathing getting a little shallow.

"Have you talked about this with Harry at all?"

"No. I don't want him to realize how awful I am,"

"You've been dating for months now, correct?" Cheryl asked.

"You have a better memory of the Prophet than I thought," Daphne mumbled.

"Sorry, it's just hard news to miss,"

"I know and that's the other problem. Everyone wants a picture when we're out. We go to muggle places a lot so that helps but it's like…look my blood status protects me. My family name protects me but at some point someone will see something or say something, and it'll be too juicy and my life is going to suck," she said slumping a bit.

"I'm going to guess you haven't talked with Harry about that either," Cheryl stated.

"No," Daphne said glaring at her a bit.

"That's fine. I'm just trying to get a gauge. Do you talk to anyone about these feelings?"

"I talk to myself a lot. I don't always mean to. It does happen like sometimes I'll carry on conversations. I'm a little strange," Daphne said, for whatever reason everything was just coming out now. It was like she couldn't control it.

"People do that. Especially when they don't have anyone else around to talk to," Cheryl said making a note. It didn't sound like there were voices in he head telling her to do things but she would have to have that elaborated on later.

"Thanks. My family thinks I'm crazy. I know I'm crazy I just…what do you think it wrong with me?" Daphne asked.

"I haven't known you long enough. I also don't feel like there is anything 'wrong' with you," Cheryl said seriously. "I feel that you have issues. Everyone has issues. Yours are just manifesting in a certain way. Instead of drinking too much or doing drugs you get nervous and shut down. I'm correct that you want that to stop?" she asked.

"Yes,' Daphne said a bit annoyed at such a basic question.

"Then that is what we are going to work on. Finding out the causes of your stress. If talking about it helps. I know you said that you're thinking about Xanax and you take potions?" she asked to confirm.

"Calming potions every now and then," Daphne said focusing on what she was saying a little more closely now.

"Okay, if we need to look are more medicine we will. You may need it, you may not need it. The one thing I want you to understand, Daphne. This is not something that's just going to fix you," she said snapping her fingers. "There is no quick fix in this case. You said your parents tried to help you, and how long have they been trying?"

"All my life and it's been tiring," Daphne admitted.

"And how many of those were quick fixes?"

"Almost all of the them were," Daphne said thinking about it for the first time.

"This isn't a quick fix. I'm not trying to scare you. I don't want to scare you either. It's just something that is going to take a lot of work. It will also be primarily driven through you," Cheryl said.

"Because I'm the one who is talking to you," she said connecting the dots in her head.

"Exactly. I want to help you. If you're not comfortable with me for any reason I will also help you try and find someone else to talk to," Cheryl said.

"Really? You'd do that for me?" Daphne said.

"Yes, I refer people to other therapists I know all the time. They refer people to me. If you don't trust me or it's not working then I want to put you in a position where you can still get help,"

"Well, thank you. That does mean a lot to me," Daphne said sitting up a little straighter again. "I do like you so far," she said.

"Good, I'm just saying if you feel like I'm not helping you. There is no pressure. My feelings won't be hurt. I just want to help you Daphne," she said.

"Now you're sounding like Harry," Daphne said.

"It sounds like Harry really cares about you. I'm sorry if this is a little awkward. Initial meetings always are," she said.

"I know. I just…I'm not used to talking to someone like this, even Harry," Daphne said.

"Sometimes people are a little too close and we need someone who can offer a different sort of perspective," Cheryl said.

"That makes sense," Daphne said honestly feeling better. The woman wasn't scary at all. She wasn't overly friendly. She did put Daphne at ease. She wasn't prepared to reveal everything, but she did have enough trust that she would be willing to talk with her. "This is nice by the way. I don't…I still feel nervous and kind of bad but less nervous," Daphne admitted, giving a weak smile.

"That's good. I never like to make anyone feel uncomfortable," Cheryl said.

"My life has been uncomfortable, you were a Hufflepuff weren't you?" Daphne asked.

"What gave it away?"

"You're warm and nice. I could imagine you as a Ravenclaw but…" Daphne said trailing off.

"Well you're right. I don't think I could have survived in the snake pit," Cheryl chuckled.

"I barely did. I probably wouldn't have but my parents pulled some strings to make sure that I was protected," Daphne said.

"Did you feel like that was a good or bad thing?" Cheryl asked.

"I've always been thankful in a way. I had bad stress around test time. I missed classes because I couldn't get out of bed. I should have been eaten alive. I just kept on fighting the best I could," she admitted. "I had dreams and I wanted to be great. I still want to be great. I just have no clue how to achieve it,"

Cheryl nodded, once again packing that away for later. She just wanted to get a good sense of who Daphne was and she was feeling good about where they were. Daphne needed help and no matter what the Daphne thought, she wasn't impossible to help.

Daphne took the momentary silence to collect her thoughts as well. This was going nice. Not great. She felt bad having to dredge up all of these old memories, but she was feeling better about going to therapy. This woman seemed to understand. Maybe she didn't understand everything, but she seemed to be closer than anyone else Daphne had met.

"Alright, we have some time left…"

"How long do I get?" Daphne asked. "I think Harry said an hour, but I can't remember,"

"Typically, we go about an hour. We might go over sometimes depending on what we are discussing. The same goes for all my patients so your appointment might start late every occasionally, but you will get your full hour. If you're having a good week and don't feel like you need your full hour, you can of course cut it in half," Cheryl said.

"And how often? I'm sorry if I'm asking a lot of questions but I have no real idea how this all works," Daphne said.

"To start I'd like once a week for about a month just so we get to know each other and then we can evaluate after that,"

Daphne thought that over and nodded. "And if I feel like I need once a week…"

"Then we will stick with once a week as long as you feel you need it. If you feel like you need bi-weekly that is also fine. Some people find monthly is all they need because things are going well, and it just helps for perspective," she said.

"Okay, that sounds good. The weekly for now. Anyway, I guess the only other thing on my mind is where things are going with Harry. He's the longest relationship I've ever had," she said. "It's strange. I mean okay he's the only relationship I've ever had. I've dated a few guys before but as soon as they knew about my issues it was over," Daphne said.

"What sort of boys were you trying to date before Harry?" Cheryl asked.

"It wasn't really me. It was to an extent but well the family line has to be continued and I'm the eldest. It was my job. I had to find a proper man. No one really expected that much from me. Puberty didn't help things. I'm pretty but not like my mother or Astoria. Boys flocked to Astoria. That was good and bad. I got a chance to be alone which I liked but I hated it too. I wanted someone to care about me. Instead I just felt like I faded into the wall," Daphne said moving her gaze away from Cheryl as she talked.

"That seems like a lot of pressure, how old were you when these started?"

"Twelve or so. My friends were all able to handle it. I just…I tried. Someone would find me pleasant enough but then they'd see my moody or hear through the grapevine about how I wasn't well. There are rumors of course. Most purebloods know about them. No one actually talks about them. No offense on the blood thing. I don't really believe in that but it's just a different kind of culture. Some boys were fine with my looks and weight, but they couldn't deal with that plus my mind,"

"I understand. Once again part of the reason I left that world," Cheryl said leaning forward. "Did Harry know about any of these rumors?"

Daphne snorted. "I love Harry. He is an amazing person and a good Auror but he can be dense on occasion. He knows next to nothing about anything Slytherin or anything pureblood," Daphne said.

"Perhaps that's why you were attracted to him in the first place?" Cheryl asked.

Daphne laughed. "I'm attracted to him because he's Harry Bloody Potter. He killed a Dark Lord. He…he's hot okay. Sure, some might call him a bit scrawny but he's lean, cute, and everything I could want in someone. I never thought I'd talk to him much less date him. You know we just met in a pub. I only went out to try and get out. I asked him out too. I thought he was going to laugh at me or just go on the one pity date,"

"If you thought that, why ask?" Cheryl said.

"I don't know. I was a little drunk. I was feeling brave. It was my one shot. I have no other love life to speak of. I honestly thought the date would go so badly that Astoria would find out and have a laugh,"

"You seem to spend a lot of time thinking about the worst case,"

"My life is the worst case. An heiress isn't supposed to be like me. They're supposed to be perfect like Astoria. If everyone had a chance to propose to Astoria they would. I'd just get a few people who wanted my money," she sighed. "I don't know, it's just my life. Now Harry is around and I'm wondering if that's true or if maybe I'm just going crazy and losing my mind. Like…I can imagine having sex with him. I can imagine a future with him," Daphne said, stopping to take a breath.

"Like before he came into my life. I had no long-term plans. I have vague plans but nothing concrete. I just imagine I'd just go through life and things would happen. Now that he's with me I want an actual future with him. I don't know if that means being a housewife or starting a business or even moving back into the Wizarding World. I just see an actual future now instead of just drifting. Does that make sense?"

"I think it does. We haven't had a chance to talk about your family yet. Can you tell me about them?"

Daphne nodded. "Not a lot to say. My sister Astoria is perfect. We're just ignoring the fact that she married a criminal who only got off because Harry testified for them. He didn't say anything untrue, but Draco did lead Death Eaters into the school," Daphne said wrinkling her nose. "My mom is a perfect wife. That is what she was raised for and she wanted to raise me in much the same way. My dad is well…he's my dad. We barely talk and we're both happy with it. He tried to teach me his business one time but it didn't take. They care about me. I know they do but at this point they just treat me like I'm going to break if anything bad happens. It's like my whole life has been one bad thing after another. I have trouble dealing with it," Daphne said.

"So, you just feel smothered by them?" Cheryl asked.

"Exactly, it's like they care. I know they care. They spent so much time caring for me. Now it's just like…they just expect me to be sad all the time. It hurts they pushed me out of the way too. I understand it. They needed a daughter who they think would actually get married and have children. This just removes the awkwardness. They did give me a chance though. They said if I was dating someone seriously after school they'd leave me as next in line. It never happened. Harry came along too late. It's just…it still hurts to know that my parents are so sure I'm never getting married,' Daphne sniffled and brushed a few tears away.

"There's a lot of conflicted feelings there," Cheryl said. "I can understand why. Just because you know why they did it doesn't mean that you can't feel hurt. Your feelings are your feelings and they're valid. You can feel however you want to feel. You just need to examine them in a healthy way," she said.

"So, you don't just think I'm being some whiny rich girl?" Daphne asked.

"I don't at all. Just because you have money doesn't mean you can't feel things. I can't imagine how that felt going through all those treatments only to have them fail. That wasn't your fault either. Your family is very traditional I'm guessing?"

Daphne nodded her head.

"They don't know how to deal with something like this. At some point, your emotions started to become too much to deal with. What I want to do is help you with that. It may take therapy and drugs, but I do believe we can get you feeling better. What is this not though?" she asked.

Daphne pursed her lips and looked a bit puzzled before remembering to earlier. "This is not a magic bullet or something that will fix me overnight," she said.

"Exactly. That's it for today," Cheryl said smiling at her.

"Really? It's been an hour?" Daphne asked looking at a clock in the office.

"Yes, time seems to fly by when you're trying to heal. Would the same time next week work for you?" she asked.

"Same day would work as well. Uhhh thank you a lot. I don't really know how I feel but it felt good to talk," Daphne said smiling.

"I'm glad. The only thing I would suggest is sharing some of your feelings with Harry. Not all at once if you don't want to. Just a little bit, something you want to trust him with," Cheryl said.

"I can do that," Daphne said standing and walking out of the office. Her head was down once again as she walked out, there was someone else in the waiting room. She was feeling conflicted as she left, part of her felt better and part of her felt like this had been a waste of time. She wasn't sad she had come to the appointment today. Maybe that's what progress felt like.

It was a couple hours later when Harry stopped by to check up on her. Daphne was sitting on the couch reading a book as Harry walked out of her fireplace.

"How was it?" he asked her. He had been a little nervous, but this was the only person that he could find. He had asked around a bit. Tried to see how certain people coped with stress on the force. He figured that with the war there had to be someone who had been desperate enough to try an alternate method.

It hadn't been easy and he had been dropping hints for weeks but finally someone had picked up on it and had given him her number. It hadn't been a perfect plan, but he didn't care if anyone thought that he needed help. He only wanted to help Daphne do whatever she needed to do so she could get better.

"It was good. I'm going again next week," Daphne said leaning in and kissing him.

"And?" Harry asked. He had been expecting details.

"And that's it. I appreciate you for finding her. She is nice," Daphne said. "But what we discuss there is private," she said.

"Oh, well uh that's good,' Harry said trying to recover. He had been expecting a little bit more from Daphne. He wasn't going to push her though. "I'm glad that you're going to keep going. You look a bit calmer," Harry said.

"I took a calming potion," Daphne said.

"That would do it too. Any reason you took one?" Harry asked moving next to her and wrapping his arm around her.

"Therapy was long and we talked about some things that were tough to discuss. It's needed and hopefully I won't need these soon," Daphne said.

"I'm just happy that you want to stick with it. I just hope it'll help," Harry said.

"I know. I wish there was a magical fix but until then I think this will be good for me," Daphne said leaning in and kissing him. "That's for caring so much about me," she said smiling at him. "It means a lot that you're not doing this in a smothering way. I think you might want to consider going to a session or two," Daphne said.

"With you?" Harry asked.

"No, I mean just on your own. I know your childhood was…rough," she said massaging his shoulders. "It helped me. I'm just thinking it could help you," Daphne said.

"Maybe,' Harry said shifting. He didn't like to think about this childhood.

"Just think about it, so what so you want to do for dinner?" Daphne asked feeling lighter than she had in years. Today had been a good day for her. She was more sure of that now. If she was being honest she was kind of looking forward to next weeks session.

 **Please Review**


	14. The Epiphany

**A/N: So, there is a chapter this week. I just want to thank everyone who reviewed and is enjoying this story. Your kind words mean a lot. I'm just glad that everyone seems to be enjoying the realism of the story.**

 **Chapter 14**

"I wish you would have told me Ron was quitting," Hermione said taking a sip of her water. She was finally back from her honeymoon looking a little tanner and more relaxed.

"You know I couldn't go behind Ron's back like that," Harry said happy to get out of the office. Normally he'd just eat at his desk, but he hadn't seen Hermione in weeks.

"I know. I was just shocked when he told me, I thought he had been liking the job," Hermione said. "I don't mind it of course. I'd rather have him be happy. I just never thought he'd want to help run a joke shop,"

"Family business, I was talking to George a few months ago and he seemed happy that Ron was coming around more. Honestly, I think it was just a matter of time for him. You know that Ron was never really someone who would have been involved in the war if it wasn't for me," Harry said.

Hermione thought it over and nodded. "True, I do love him but if he had never met you I don't think he'd have done anything like he did during the war. I don't think I would have either," Hermione admitted.

"So, you're saying that I ruined your lives?" Harry joked.

Hermione cocked her head and gave him a small glare. "Yes, that's what I'm saying. That's why I lived in a tent with you for months," she said.

"We really should go camping again sometime,"

"I think you just like dredging up old memories," Hermione said. "At any rate, Ron is happier than I've seen him in a while. I think he had just grown comfortable in the job. I hate that the Prophet is asking if he's gone crazy,"

"You know how they are. It doesn't help that he's a big name. How's Ron dealing with the press?" Harry asked.

"Ignoring it. He just doesn't care about it at all. He's happy and confident with his choice. It's oddly alluring. Was anyone mad he just so happened to quit after all that time off?" Hermione asked.

"A few people but I think the prevailing theory is that you made him quit," Harry said.

"What? Why?" Hermione asked her temper starting to raise a bit.

"Nothing bad. They just think that you didn't want Ron having a dangerous job," Harry explained. "A fair number of wives and girlfriends aren't really happy with people working this job. Even with all the Death Eaters gone it's stressful and can be dangerous,"

Hermione blushed a light shade of pink and shifted a bit. "That's just a plus of it. I was happy when he got the job and if it made him happy then I was happy. I can't lie and say that I'm not relieved to an extent. He knows how to defend himself but he's not in the line of fire anymore. I still have you to worry about though," Hermione said.

"You don't have to worry about me," Harry said.

"I know. I just don't want anything to happen to you. It doesn't keep me up at night, but I still worry and care," she said.

"I know. I'll be fine though. I've taken on worse. I don't think that a few drunk wizards who shoot off spells at muggles are anything to worry about," Harry said smiling.

"That's good. You always wanted to be an Auror. I'm glad that you love the job," Hermione said.

Harry just kept on smiling at Hermione, not sure what he should say to that. "Yeah, well…it just seems to fit," Harry said hoping that she'd just drop this. The waitress came back over to fill his water and he nodded in appreciation.

"Well it is what you were supposed to do," Hermione quipped.

Harry felt his mouth go dry and everything just seemed to stop at those words. What he was supposed to do. Being an Auror was something he was supposed to do. It was preordained after all. There was nothing else that he could have been. Harry could barely think the rest of the lunch. Hermione talked but he mostly just nodded and agreed with her. He wasn't there but he really wasn't. He was in his own little world.

He did go back to work and luckily there was only paperwork today. He spent the rest of the day in an almost trance like state. Hermione's words just seemed to stick with him. He suddenly felt quite ill instead of going over to Daphne's like he had planned, he sent a ministry owl to tell her he needed to just go home and rest.

Harry did end up going home but he didn't feel like he was going to get any sort of rest. He felt nervous. It was like his entire body was on fire. He knew that Hermione hadn't meant anything by what she had said but her words were really getting him to think. He hadn't been happy at his job in a long time. He had felt bad about his job for a good long while. The idea of quitting had passed through his mind a few times but never had it been so vibrant and clear in his mind.

"It's what I'm supposed to do," he mumbled to himself, pouring himself a stiff drink. "Did I ever really want to be an Auror?" he asked himself. "I thought it would be something cool to do. I didn't really know any other wizarding careers," he mumbled to himself. He could feel a headache coming on. Instead of holding back he decided to drink a little bit more. No one had ever told him of other jobs. He had just mentioned it and people thought it was what he wanted to be. After all he had beaten a Dark Lord, what else was he supposed to do?

Dumbledore hadn't been an Auror. He had gone into teaching. Was that something he might want to do? He did a good job fifth year. Could he do that long term? Was there something else he wanted to do? Harry wasn't sure. He took out some parchment and started to write things down, maybe it would help him collect his thoughts.

XXXXX

Harry shifted nervously as his desk the next day. He still wasn't sure what he was going to do. Last night hadn't provided any sort of clarity and he had woken up with a massive hangover. Nothing that a potion couldn't fix. Still, his nerves felt frayed and he had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. Was he really going to do this? Could he do this? The fallout was going to be horrible. Was this how Daphne felt all the time?

"Potter, I need you to head to Bristol. Have reports of someone cursing tooth brushes, making muggles teeth fall out. It's a mess," Head Auror Gawain Robards said.

That was it for Harry. This was it. He could feel himself standing at the edge of a cliff. He had no clue what was going to come from this. He couldn't imagine heading out to deal with that. It wasn't giving him any joy or pleasure anymore. He wasn't sure it really ever did. He was just doing it because it was what he was supposed to do.

", can I speak with you in your office, sir?" Harry asked feeling nervous.

Robards looked him over, Potter looked pale. It was as if he was about to be sick, he looked a little twitchy too. Strange, Potter was never someone who was overjoyed but he hadn't seen the boy look like this in years. He remembered some pictures back during the war but that was it. "Make it quick, we need you out there," he said as they walked into his office.

"I quit," Harry blurted out as soon as the door was closed.

Robards looked at him shocked and as if he had grown a second head. "Excuse me? You're quitting?" he asked. Weasley wasn't exactly the best Auror but he was quite capable, it was still a loss but one they could overcome. To lose Harry Potter would be incredible. He did good work and it would be a major hit PR wise for the department.

"Are you sure? Do you need some…" he started, and Harry cut him off.

"I quit. I don't do this job anymore. It's not making me happy. I quit,"

Robards sagged in his chair and rubbed his temples. The press would get word of this and it would be nothing but a headache for him. "Please, maybe a few days off would help," he suggested.

"No. I thought about it last night. I don't want to be an Auror. I think I did at some point. I don't want to be one now. I'm not happy. I don't care for the job. Admit it I've just been floating around here," Harry said.

Gawain Robards wanted to disagree with him, he could not. As much as he did like Potter's potential the fact was that ever since the last of the Death Eaters were caught he had just been floating around. His work was impeccable, but he couldn't say that there was any passion behind it. It often reminded him of people who would drop out after a few weeks in training. It just wasn't the career for them.

"I suppose that you won't have a two weeks' notice," Robards said.

"Do you want someone whose heart isn't in it around here? Potentially causing problems?" Harry asked knowing the answer.

"Clean out your desk and your locker," he sighed. "I won't try and force you to stay. I can't say that others in the ministry won't try. You're no good to us if you're heart isn't in it. I don't know what you're going to do next, but I wish you luck," he said standing up to shake Harry's hand.

"Thank you. I know it's sudden," Harry said shaking his hand back.

"I understand, it's not easy to do something like this. I would suggest taking a vacation. You look like you need it," Robards said.

"I'll take that under consideration," Harry said walking out of that office, cleaning everything out of his desk, and feeling lighter then he had in a long time.

XXXXXX

Daphne was just sitting down on her lunch break, a little sad that she hadn't seen Harry yesterday. Her whole life didn't revolve around him obviously. That didn't mean that she didn't miss him. She was in a sandwich shop she frequented that was close to her work. She was actively trying to eat a little bit better and had opted for a turkey sandwich.

The day had been dull so far, which was a good thing. It meant that every issue was getting fixed or moved to the right place at a good pace and no one was yelling at her. She was hopeful that Harry would feel better tonight, she wanted to spend some time with him. She was so lost in her own world that she didn't even realize that someone was sitting down across from her until it had already happened.

"Excuse me this…" Daphne started and was taken aback to see a very happy Harry in front of her. Without missing a beat he leaned in to kiss her deeply.

"How are you today?" Harry asked relaxing in his seat, once the kiss was broken.

"I'm well, I thought you'd be too busy today or not feeling well. Not that I'm mad. How'd you know where to find me?" she asked.

"I went to your work first and they said you weren't there. I know you like to visit one of three places, you're trying to eat healthier, so this seemed like the best bet," Harry said.

Daphne blushed a bit and leaned in to kiss him again.

"What was that for?" Harry asked.

"Nothing," she said smiling. She was just so giddy that he actually did listen to her and remembered what she had said. Knowing where she might be for lunch meant a lot to her. It was small, but it meant that he did care. "I'm glad you were able to get away for a bit, when does the office expect you back?" Daphne asked.

"They don't. I quit today," Harry said looking nervous but excited at the same time.

"What? You just…" Daphne said her eyes going wide. He had never talked about this with her at all. Why would he just go and quit his job. She blinked a few times and shook her head. "When did you decide this?" Daphne asked.

"Last night. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. You're the first one to know. I wasn't actually sure I was going to quit," he said in a whispered tone. No one seemed to be paying attention, but you never really knew.

"I'm just…that's sudden. Are we happy or sad?" Daphne asked taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Happy, Daphne I have a question for you," he said looking into her eyes and taking her hand. "What is Harry Potter supposed to do?" he asked her.

Daphne was taken aback by the question. "What do you mean? What are you supposed to do? or the Harry Potter people see you as?" she asked a little confused by the question. It wouldn't have confused her before but having dated him for a while she had come to realize that the Harry Potter the public knew and the real Harry were vastly different.

"Before you knew me. Knew anything about me, what was Harry Potter. The one from the papers and the books. What was he supposed to do?" he asked looking a hair frantic.

"He was supposed to defeat the Dark Lord," she whispered, more because there were muggles around than fear. "Then he was supposed to become an Auror and fight the dark for the rest of his life. Maybe take over Dumbledore's mantle in his later years," Daphne said seeing where he was going with this now.

"And that's how most people feel," he said leaning back in his chair. "I don't want that. I don't know what I want to do. I do know that it's not that at all," he said.

Daphne looked at Harry and wondered if this is how people saw her when she had an episode. Harry looked like he had gone through the wringer, yet in his case he was still smiling.

"I see what you mean," Daphne said leaning forward to rub his arm. "If you don't like it then I'm happy you're not working there anymore. I don't know what you want to do but I know you'll be good at it," Daphne said trying to encourage him.

Harry nodded in gratitude and looked down for a moment. "You have holiday time, right?" Harry asked.

"A few weeks, why?" Daphne asked.

"Want to getaway with me for a bit?" Harry asked.

"Where to?" Daphne said a little shocked that he seemed to have a plan already set. Maybe this wasn't the first time he had thought about quitting.

"I don't know. I've never really been anywhere. I've never left the country. We could go to Paris, Milan, Rome, Athens, the States, even Australia. I have money just sitting in the bank. I want to go and enjoy life. I want to take my girlfriend somewhere fun," he said.

Daphne was never one to do something like this. She had never taken an impulsive sort of vacation. She had gone places with her family of course. She had traveled all over Europe with them. Sometimes for 'treatment' and other times for fun. She could feel her heart racing. She was a little nervous about this. She'd be alone with Harry in a hotel room. There wasn't going to be space between them and she liked space.

Then again, she was only young once. They both had the money. As much as she liked her job it wasn't like it was the end of the world if she wasn't there. This wasn't a sort of job she would die over. If she didn't have holiday time she might even, consider quitting it just to go with him. How many girls wished that Harry Potter would just come up to them and ask them this question? Yes, she was a little nervous. She hadn't had any bad days in a while. If things went bad she could always use her money to just go home.

"Then let's go. Can we wait a few days? I have an appointment this week and it'll give me time to get the time off approved," Daphne said.

"Sure! We can go anywhere. I think I just want it to be somewhere warm," Harry said visibly relaxing for the first time since he had sat down.

"Okay, well I've never been the States, southern France is always lovely. I'm not really a big beach person though," she said.

Harry nodded. "Well we don't have to do if you're too uncomfortable. I just mean that we should be somewhere nice. Just the two of us," he said smiling.

"I'd like that a lot," Daphne said taking a bite out of her sandwich as the two of them started to discuss their plans. There was a lot to get done in so little time.

XXXXX

Harry arrived back at his apartment. Daphne had to go back to work. They were either going to vacation in Florida, the Bahamas, or Italy. It hadn't fully been decided upon yet. Harry was just happy that she had agreed to it. Some time away from everything would be nice. He had gone from the War straight to the Auror office. He had never had a real vacation and he was going to make the most of it. Someone else could deal with saving the world for a bit. There were responsibilities to being him, but he had done his part. It was time for the rest of the Wizarding world to do the same.

He wasn't surprised to see the sheer amount of mail that he had. Only a select people could get mail directly to him. It was obvious that everyone had heard, and everyone wanted to know why. The late edition of the Prophet was on top and he was the lead story.

 _ **POTTER QUITS!**_

 _In a stunning turn of events today, this reporter has learned that Harry Potter has quit his job in the Auror Department! This shocking move came out of nowhere. Head Auror Gawain Robards had this to say._

" _While we are saddened by Mr. Potter's decision we also understand that he has to do what is best for him. We wish him the best,"_

 _This move comes just a week after Ronald Weasley, Mr. Potter's close and personal friend, also quit. Is this move related somehow? Were either of them forced out? Was it his new relationship that caused him to quit the job that he loves?_

" _Possibly," one anonymous Auror was quoted as saying. "He has changed since he met her. Maybe she didn't like the idea of him actually getting his hands dirty,"_

 _Avid readers will remember that Harry Potter is dating Daphne Greengrass. Is it possible that the plain girl made an ultimatum? How could she have gotten him to quit? Is there a secret lurking behind the scenes?_

Harry couldn't take anymore of it and burnt the paper. He wasn't surprised that they had moved onto Daphne. He knew it was only a matter of time. If he was lucky her father would see it and say something to get their name out of the paper but when it came to him there was only so much that people could do.

He started to go through the envelopes. Kingsley was begging to talk to him. Harry was hopeful it was just to wish him well but he knew how important he was and how politics could trump common sense. He ignored that one for now.

Most letters seemed to be similar. Asking him if he was alright, if there was anything they could do and asking him why he had quit. He was sick of it at this point. Everyone really thought that he was just supposed to be happy putting his life on the line. Just because he was used to it didn't mean that he actually liked it.

He had just finished opening the last envelope, they were all over the floor by where he was sitting, when his fireplace flashed a green color and a shocked Hermione came out of it.

"So, you've seen the Prophet?" Harry asked grinning weakly at her.

"Seen the Prophet? I've seen the Prophet. Heard the gossip at the Ministry. At first, I thought it was just a bunch of busy bodies, making up rumors now that Ron was gone. Then people were confirming it. Do you know that Kingsley came up to me and asked me why you had quit? I just…why did you quit?" Hermione asked sitting down next to him.

"You promise you'll treat me with the same respect you treat Ron?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, of course. I just…you didn't give an inclination yesterday,"

"I wasn't going to do it until after I talked to you. Do you remember when you said that the job was something I was supposed to do?" he asked.

Hermione thought back and shrugged. "A little bit. I remember thinking that you always wanted to be one and you were made for the job,"

"That's the problem. People assume I was made for it. People just think because I killed Voldemort that the job is meant for me. I thought it was too. At one point I'm sure I wanted it. Now that I have it, it doesn't make me happy. When Ron told me that he was quitting, I understood how he felt because I felt it too. I just didn't want to admit it to myself at the time. It was easier to do nothing," he sighed.

"Harry," Hermione said frowning and rubbing his back.

"It was what I was supposed to do. After the war I was supposed to be an Auror, marry Ginny, and have my happily ever after. None of that makes me happy," he said shaking a bit. "I can't do it another day. I thought maybe I could. I wanted to cool down a bit. Then he just came up to me with some crime I couldn't care about. It was bad what was happening, but I couldn't care. I don't want the job. I don't know what I want to do. I just know it's not that," Harry said.

"I…I'm sorry. I just…I honestly thought you loved it," Hermione said wondering just how well she knew Harry.

"It's not your fault. That's what I said and I'm sure I did love it at a point. I just can't do this now. I feel burnt out and I'm not old enough for that," he said.

Hermione nodded. "Any clue what you're going to do now?" she asked.

"Daphne and I are going on a vacation together. Still hashing out the details but we're going somewhere warm so that we can be alone for a bit," he said.

"You told her already," Hermione said the gears in her mind turning.

"Yes, she's my girlfriend," Harry said.

Hermione nodded. It hadn't been that way with Ginny. When he was with Ginny it was random who would be the first person to know. It was whomever he saw first. She worked in the ministry and instead of going to see her, he had gone directly to Daphne.

"Good. I'm glad and I think a vacation would be good for you. If you need help figuring out what you want to do, I can help," Hermione said.

"I know you will. I just need to take some time and think about what's important to me," Harry said.

"Good, just think about it. I'll support you no matter what," she said.

"It means a lot to me, you know how important you are to me," he said giving her a hug.

Hermione knew she was important. She also knew that she wasn't the most important woman in his life anymore. When he had been with Ginny there was a debate as he frequented her almost as much. Those days were over. She would always be there for him, but she knew that this was for the better. Daphne was good for him. She'd just have to get used to hearing a lot more things second. She was sure that she'd be able to live.

XXXXXX

"I'm sure you saw the news," Daphne said sitting down on that comfortable couch.

"I did. I have to say I didn't expect that to happen. How do you feel about Harry quitting?" Cheryl asked.

"I don't know. It was obvious that he wasn't going to be able to deal with it anymore," Daphne said. She had only been to a few sessions, but she found herself liking them. A part of her was actively looking forward to them. That didn't mean that while she was in the waiting room she didn't want to walk out sometimes, but she was doing better.

"Is he happy about it?"

"Over the moon. He's looking forward to taking a vacation. He's having us travel by airplane, first class. He's never been on one and wants to experience it. I haven't been either. I'm not looking forward to a bit of a long flight but it's fine," Daphne said.

"And how do you feel about what's being printed," Cheryl asked.

"Well I have my mail go through Gringotts now so I avoid the hate mail. It's a bit strange that people are so willing to blame me. It bothers me a bit," she admitted.

"What bothers you?" Cheryl asked.

"When they refer to me as plain," Daphne said. "I know it's not true about me being the cause of Harry leaving. I can ignore that as gossip. I am a bit plain. I wish I had more time before our vacation," she sighed.

"Why?" Cheryl asked.

"Harry's going to want to see my body. I don't want to show it all to him," Daphne said shifting nervously.

"How much of you has he seen? Just share what you're comfortable sharing," Cheryl said.

"Not much, just my pajamas. We've slept in the same bed a few times," Daphne said.

"Did he not like your body then?" Cheryl asked.

"No," Daphne said.

"Then I think you should have some faith in Harry. He seems to care about you,"

"He does. After he quit he just found me. Like I told him about work and he was just able to remember it and find me," Daphne grinned.

"Why is that so important to you?" Cheryl asked.

"It means he listens to me. He actually cares about my day. It's a little strange to think about but I love that he cares so much about me," Daphne said.

"Then I would dress how you want and enjoy your vacation with him. Make some happy memories with him," Cheryl suggested.

"I will. I can do this. I want to have fun with him. It'll be nice to be with him. We're planning on going to Italy," she beamed.

"I hope you have a good time. So that'll be no appointments for the next two weeks," Cheryl stated.

"Exactly. If the vacation runs long I'll give you a call but I only expect it to be two weeks," Daphne said.

"Great. During that time, I do suggest writing a journal or keeping some thoughts. If you feel nervous just try and find an outlet for your thoughts," Cheryl suggested. "You may also feel free to call if you are in crisis and you need me. I may be with another patient but if it's an emergency I can help you the best I can over the phone,"

"I think I'll do that. I don't expect anything bad to happen. If it does I might just come back to the country. I'll be fine," Daphne said smiling as they moved onto the next part of the session.

XXXXXX

Daphne was finding that therapy was exhausting at times. Bringing everything up and all of her baggage could be a lot. She loved going and talking but it did wear on her. Dredging up old memories was a lot and she needed some time to relax. Sadly, that was not in the cards today as her sister was standing at her door waiting for her.

"Astoria, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Daphne asked smiling as she went to open her door.

"Your name is in the Prophet again," Astoria said.

"And your name was in it almost every day leading up to the wedding. I don't ask for it, they just like to come after me," Daphne shrugged wondering what exactly her sister was up to.

"Is it true? Did you convince Harry to quit?" Astoria asked.

Daphne glared at her sister a bit. "I didn't talk to him about it until after he quit. His choices are his own. Why do you care so much?" she asked.

"Thank Merlin," Astoria said. "Sorry but this is important. I worry about you. If they keep seeing smoke coming from you, they might start looking into you a bit more," Astoria said. "There's only so much that daddy can do and you know it,"

"I know. It's a risk. There's nothing I can do about that," Daphne said starting to get a little bit nervous. What if they did find out about her little problems?

"You could not date Harry Potter," Astoria said.

Daphne felt her heart race. "I could do that. Instead, I'm going to keep on dating him. He makes me happy," she said deciding not to mention their little getaway.

Astoria grimaced. "Fine. I just want what's best for you Daph. Why can't you go and date someone else? Someone a little less famous?" she asked.

"I could. They wouldn't be Harry though and thus they wouldn't make me happy," Daphne said feeling her will breaking a bit. She was tired and she wasn't in the mood for this. "I didn't ask you to break up with Draco," Daphne said.

Astoria glared. "You're not wrong on that. I'm sorry. I just want you happy. I'm just worried this will blow up and go down in flames,"

Daphne gulped, she worried about that too. "I'll deal with that if it happens," she said. Very recently a part of her was thinking that this might be forever.

"Okay okay, sorry. I just worry about you. I also don't think that you're plain. No Greengrass is plain," Astoria said.

"I appreciate it. Is there anything else you needed?" Daphne asked. She wanted to pack. She'd write them from Italy.

"That's it. Just be careful and please write if you need anything. I just don't want you getting hurt," she said rubbing Daphne's arm.

"I'll be fine," Daphne assured her.

"Okay, fine. You should come over for dinner at some point with Harry. Mother and father would like to get to know him a little bit better," Astoria said.

"I'll see what we can work out," Daphne said knowing that Harry would hate it. It was an unavoidable meeting. If he was in it for the long haul there would have to be some one on one time.

"Lovely, I'll write you," Astoria said leaning in and hugging her sister. "I'll see you soon," Astoria said not quite accomplishing what she had come here for but as long as Daphne was alright, she was fine. She honestly didn't hate Harry. She liked him. She just didn't want anything to make Daphne worse than she already was. There was a chance for all her dirty laundry to be aired and Astoria was sure that would break her sister and she never wanted that to happen.

Daphne went and locked the door as soon as her sister left. She knew Astoria meant well but it wasn't any of her business. It was time to go and pack. She wanted to go and have some fun with Harry. She wanted to be the kind of woman who Harry deserved. She was going to lose her virginity on this vacation. It was the right time and it there was not going to be a more romantic moment. She just needed to find the right lingerie. It was going to be a vacation to remember.

 **Please Review**


	15. The Best Laid Plans

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and I hope you enjoy!**

 **Chapter 15**

It was a bit of an odd sight seeing both Daphne and Harry attempt to navigate air travel. They had both been able to expedite their passports, luckily, and they were ready to go to Italy. Getting to the airport hadn't been too bad but once there they both found it to be a bit of a maze combined with a lot of waiting.

"Portkey would have been faster," Daphne whispered as they looked around.

"Hermione said we had to arrive extra early. I thought she was joking," Harry muttered as they found the first-class check in. Noting how long the lines looked for the other seats, Harry was now glad that he had paid more.

Soon enough they were checked in and going through security. Both of them had packed their wands in their carry-on luggage just in case something did happen. Something else that Hermione had suggested. It would look a bit odd carrying a stick on you and they seemed to be fairly serious about checking things.

By the time they had reached the end of security both of them felt like they had already traveled a hundred miles.

"And this is better how?" Daphne asked shaking her head.

"I don't think it is. We still have an hour before boarding and the flight is about three hours," Harry said as they started to make their way to the gate.

"It is gigantic, certainly something to look at," Daphne said looking around at all of the food, people, and overpriced shops around. She was trying to take in the full experience.

"I know. It's amazing how a place like this even works," Harry said as they started to slow down and look around a bit.

"Hogwarts Express doesn't have anything on this," Daphne said.

Eventually they maid their way to the gate, there was a lounge they could have waited in but instead they decided to explore a bit. Stopping at a newsstand and making a few impulse purchases, both of them unable to help themselves buying some candy to share and a few magazines for Daphne to read on the plane.

Soon enough, it was time for the plane to leave and they had arrived at the gate. They were seated right away and found their large and fairly comfortable seats. "This isn't too bad," Daphne said taking the window seat.

"Yeah, my uncle always complained that planes were too cramped," Harry said. "Then again, he flew economy and is three times my size,"

Daphne chuckled at that and tried to relax as everyone else boarded the plane. As it was getting closer to take off both of them were getting antsy.

"What do you think it feels like?" Daphne asked.

"Not sure, I'd imagine like being a broom but a bit more comfortable with less wind," Harry said as the last people boarded the plane and the door was shut.

The captain then came on and made a few announcements and they started to pull away from the gate. Both of them felt their nerves start to rise a bit as the plane started to move. Daphne moved and held Harry's hand. It wasn't too bad so far, but she was a little nervous, she could tell Harry was too.

"This is fine," Daphne said as the engines started to roar and both of them jumped out of their seats a bit as the plane started to elevate into the air.

"Bit different," Harry said as his ears popped. Overall takeoff wasn't that bad. It was a little nerve wracking for the two of them but as soon as they reached a cruising altitude it was better.

"Look at how small everything looks," Daphne said having the courage to look out the window. Harry looked over at nodded.

"Can't say I've ever been up this high before," Harry said.

The stewardess walked up to them and cleared her throat. "First time flying?" she asked the two of them warmly.

"Yes, is it obvious?" Harry asked.

"A bit, would you two like anything to drink?" she asked.

"What do you have?" Harry asked, and she listed off everything they did have. Harry decided to have a soda while Daphne was fine with a water and started to flip through some of her magazines. Most of it was just muggle gossip or fashion. Nothing she should really concern herself with, but she did find the fashion interesting. She really wanted to dress more muggle and be up on current fashions when they went out to muggle restaurants, which was often.

Soon enough they were just sitting there, chatting, barely noticing the sound of the jets or the feeling of flying on the plane.

XXXXXX

"Finally here," Harry said shaking his head. The rest of the flight had been fine, the landing and baggage claim were a bit easier then checking in and take off. Finding a taxi hadn't been too hard either. Soon enough they were in a beautiful suite that was overlooking the coast.

"So, would we do muggle travel again?" Daphne asked plopping herself down on the bed.

"Maybe. It was nice to experience it, but it takes a lot longer," Harry said.

"Yeah, but it was nice experiencing an airplane," Daphne said stretching out. She was starting to feel a little nervous. She had promised herself that this was when she was going to lose her virginity. It seemed a lot simpler in her head. She wasn't exactly sure how to be 'sexy' for him. Harry did find her attractive but she wanted it to be memorable. Tonight, would be the night. They'd go out, have a nice meal, and she'd dress like her sister normally did. That seemed to work for her, should be fine if she attempted it.

Daphne stood up and walked out to the balcony. "Oh, you didn't tell me there was a hot tub out here," she said looking at it.

"Huh? oh yeah. Wanted something to relax at night. I wouldn't worry too much. This place is nice and private," Harry said closing his eyes to rest them a bit.

"That's perfect," Daphne said smiling, shaking a little be as she rejoined him on the bed. It would be two weeks of this. Two weeks of closeness to him. It had been about half a day and she was feeling good; her nerves were also feeling a little frayed.

"Rest a bit and then go and get something to eat?" Daphne asked.

"Sounds good, the woman downstairs had a few suggestions. What do you want?" Harry asked wrapping his arm around her.

"Anything would be good. I would prefer something nice. I bought a new dress I want to wear," Daphne said.

"Then we'll go fancy tonight," Harry said closing his eyes to get a bit of rest.

After about an hour or so of rest to recharge after the trip Daphne rolled out of bed to take a shower and prepare for tonight. Was it really a good idea to do this tonight? She had two weeks after all, she could just wait.

"It's better to try now. I'm his girlfriend and it's what we're supposed to do," she told herself taking a deep breath. This way she wouldn't have anything to worry about the rest of the vacation. "It might even go well," Daphne said not quite believing it. The act didn't seem too bad. She knew the basics. Tracy had told her what it was like when she lost her virginity sixth year. It was both exciting and scary to Daphne then and it was even more exciting and scary to her now.

Harry had been perfect, he hadn't pressured her at all. They were on vacation, he was paying for it. She wanted to treat this like a normal couple would. She was going to be normal and have sex with her hot boyfriend, even if the thought of it made her shake a bit.

Daphne was attracted to Harry, she had more than a few naughty dreams about him. Her nerves any sort of attraction issues. It was just a big moment for her. Harry was going to be her first. She wanted this. It scared her to death. "I can do this. Both Astoria and Tracy loved it. Pansy did it casually. You can do this," she said getting into the shower.

Meanwhile, Harry was relaxing on the bed as he heard the water running. Once she was out he'd go and get ready. He was already feeling more relaxed than he had been in…well he couldn't remember the last time he was this relaxed. He was on vacation with his amazing girlfriend and he didn't have to worry about work at all. Sure, he didn't know what he was going to do long term. That didn't matter right now. He was going to take Daphne out and just enjoy the night.

XXXXXX

Daphne had spent about ten minutes trying to decide if her hair should be up or down. She did look good with long flowing locks. There was something about her hair up though that she thought he might like. She kept going back and forth before deciding that she was just going to leave her hair down.

She was working on her make-up when Harry came in already dressed. He had decided to forgo a shower not feeling that dirty. He was just going to wash his face a bit.

"How much longer?" Harry asked.

"Not too much longer. I'm almost done with my make-up," Daphne said going back to working on her lipstick.

"Great, you look great," Harry said looking her over. She was wearing a dark green dress that hugged her body perfectly and showed off her curves that Harry loved. "You're looking really great," Harry said as she put on perfume.

"Thank you, just thought we should kick off the vacation right," she said smiling.

"Still, you're dressed nicer then usual," he noted.

"It's nice to dress nice," Daphne said primping herself a bit.

Harry found that to be a little un-Daphne-like. True, she always looked nice but it normally wasn't heels and stockings nice. He shrugged it off. She might deny it, but she was a bit of a pureblood princess, he guessed that it was just coming out.

Soon enough Daphne was ready to go, and they made their way to the restaurant. Once seated Harry ordered a bottle of wine, something Daphne was intensely grateful for, she started to take full advantage of it.

"It's nice to be here with you," Daphne said. "So, you've never really had a vacation?" she asked.

Harry shrugged. "You know how my family was. Closest thing I ever got was spending time with the Weasley's and even then, we had chores most of the time," Harry said.

"It was still nice of them to take you in like that," Daphne said.

"Yeah, they're good people. Wish they were my real family sometimes. It's nice to be here with you though. No offense to Ron but don't think I'd like sharing a room with him," Harry said.

Daphne giggled. "I'm glad you invited me too. I think if you took Ron along for a romantic two weeks Hermione and I would have to have a nice long talk,"

Harry shook his head and chuckled. This was part of the reason he loved Daphne. When she wasn't so worried what other people thought she could have a good sense of humor and be witty. She just worried about everything. Even now she seemed to be a little bit tense, but she was in good spirits. He just wished he knew why she was tense.

"You feeling alright?" he asked.

"Yes, it's just been a bit of a long day," she said reaching out her hand to grab onto his arm. "I'm just happy to be here with you," she said smiling at him. "It's going to be a special night," she said as they started on their appetizer.

XXXXXX

Two hours later after a very good meal with a decadent dessert they had made it back to their room.

"What's that?" Harry asked looking at a cart that had been brought into the room.

"Oh good, before I left I asked them for a bottle of champagne. I thought you might like it," she said starting to feel really nervous. How did she want to do this? She had never seduced anyone before. Did she need to?

"I do, so what are we going to do?" Harry asked going over to open the bottle.

"I was thinking it's a nice night and we do have a hot tub," Daphne said slinking over to him and rubbing his shoulders.

"That'd be very nice, I'll go and get changed," Harry said going through his suitcase to grab his bathing suit, then went into the bathroom to changed knowing how Daphne was still just a little squeamish about the whole changing thing. She hadn't been comfortable to change in front of him yet, so he wasn't going to do it until she felt comfortable. At least full body, she didn't seem to mind changing shirts.

That gave Daphne a moment to go into her suitcase to debate over what to wear. She only had about a minute. She'd be more comfortable in a one piece. She had found a two piece that looked good on her before she left. At least in her mind. She thought most of them looked horrible but this one fit her figure the best.

Just then Harry walked out and Daphne couldn't help but gawk. Sure, she had seen him take off his shirt, and she had cuddled up to him when they had slept together. She still couldn't get over how great he looked. "Y-you look great," Daphne said feeling herself get hotter.

"I'll be the tub going," Harry said. He was surprised that Daphne was being this open. He wasn't complaining. Maybe a bit of time away from her family was helping her too. Whenever he went to Hogwarts he found that his moods got better being away from his family. At least until someone tried to kill him at school.

Daphne looked at her options. "Oh he's going to see you naked tonight anyway. Might as well get it over with early in case he's disgusted," she said grabbing her black bikini. "Okay Daphne you can do this," she said heading into the bedroom. "You know Harry likes you. You know that sex means you'll be naked. A bikini isn't a big deal at all. You're in vacation. Who cares if he sees you. He's grabbed your rear before. Your skin looks fine. He will love this," she said to herself trying to hype herself up and calm her nerves. "Wish I was fitter," she said grabbing onto her soft sides.

"Nothing you can do about that now," Daphne said adjusting her top to make her breasts look as appealing as possible. "You can do this!" Daphne said to her reflection. She did suck in her tummy as she walked out of the bathroom and onto the balcony.

Harry had poured them each a glass of champagne as he waited for her to come out. He had been expecting something conservative, a cute one piece or something of the like. When Daphne came out showing off more skin then ever before he was taken aback. Taken aback by the boldness of it, and taken aback by how good she looked. He needed a moment to recover as she lowered herself into the hot water.

"Daph, I…wow. You look great," Harry said feeling his blood started to rush somewhere else in his body.

"You like it? I wasn't sure if I should buy it or not. I thought it might not be warm enough. I just…I don't know, you do like it though?" she asked getting a little closer to him.

"Like it? I love it," he said sipping on his champagne. "I'm just…I wasn't sure what I was expecting but it wasn't that," he said wrapping his arm around her.

Daphne started to relax a little bit. He liked her body. He wasn't disgusted. He didn't laugh at her or tell her that they were over. Admittedly, the last two were very unlikely to happen but she couldn't stop her mind when it got going. "I'm glad you like it. I wanted to look nice for you," she said cuddling up to him.

"You always look nice for me," Harry said.

Daphne shrugged and nearly gulped down her glass. She started to rub her hands all over his body and her breathing shallowed a bit thanks to nerves. "I'm glad you think so," Daphne said shaking just a bit.

Harry should to known that something was up when she walked out. He had just been so shocked that it took her shaking lightly for him to realize something was up. Daphne never shunned physical contact, but she wasn't this aggressive. As much as he knew he was going to regret this, he had to know what was going on with her. "Okay, what's up?" Harry asked as she moved to suck on his neck.

"What? Nothing is up," Daphne said.

"You're shaking and it's not that cold. Just tell me what's on your mind. I won't be mad," Harry said.

Daphne move away from him and her form seemed to sag. "I…I wanted to be romantic with you tonight. You've been great and patient with me. The mood felt right,' she said mad at herself for being so obvious.

Guilt ran through Harry. She was just trying to please him, and he had stopped her from it. He didn't want to turn her off, he just didn't want her to force herself. "I appreciate it, I just don't want you shaking. You look nervous," Harry said.

"Is it obvious?" she asked groaning, sticking her tongue out as she just kind of floated a bit.

"Just a bit. I just want to be sure you're comfortable. You don't have to force…" Harry started as Daphne let out a groan.

"Yes, yes, you're great and romantic and perfect," Daphne said.

"I'm sorry?" Harry asked.

"I mean…look I just want to do the things that a normal girlfriend would have done months ago. You're amazing and patient with me. I want this. I want…to see where things go tonight," she said glumly.

"Okay, then ignore I said anything. It's just…if it's too much too fast you'll tell me?" Harry asked. Daphne nodded her head. "If that's the case…" Harry said grabbing her by the wrist and bringing her back over to him. He wasted no time and started to kiss her.

Daphne was a little shocked by the actions. She also did nothing to stop them. This was making her feel good, very good. Her entire body felt like it was on fire. She was still nervous but felt a little less so.

They kept this up for a little bit, their hands were exploring each other bodies. Daphne really did like this. It made her feel good. She had never gotten past this point before with boys. Was this going to be enough for Harry? Harry was more experienced. At least half of the women here would have jumped him already. She needed to take this to the next level. This was fine, but this was stuff people did their fifth and sixth years when they started dating.

Daphne had to keep this moving, she had to make this as good for him as she possibly could.

"Should we take this back inside?" she asked still feeling a little nervous, but she was sure that she could do this now.

"Sounds great," Harry said and they both exited the tub. He took her by the hand and led her back inside.

Daphne was started to feel nervous again. Was she really ready for this? She hadn't gone that far before. As she lay on the bed all of this felt more real. She was starting to shake a bit as Harry kissed her and she started to feel sick to her stomach. In the tub they had just been kissing, she had already said she wanted to do this. She couldn't backtrack now. She opened her legs and moved to take off her top.

Harry could feel her shaking again, once again he thought that kissing her would calm her down but it didn't seem to be working. He could still feel her shaking and as she went to take off her top he grabbed her by the hand.

"Are you sure that you want this?" Harry asked her.

"Y-yes. I want to…please you," she said.

"Is it because you want it? I just…look you were nervous out there and you're shaking again. I don't want you to do it just because you think that you have to," Harry said a little annoyed her had to reiterate this, a little annoyed that he hadn't put a stop to it earlier.

"I…this does feel good," she said. "I'm just…I don't…I want to go further. Like I really do but I'm scared," she admitted ashamed of herself.

"I don't want you to be scared," Harry said. "How about this, how about we just…have fun tonight. We won't go as far as you were thinking. How far would you feel good with?" he asked. Okay this wasn't the most romantic situation ever, but it'd be far better than a sobbing Daphne.

"I liked what we were doing out there," Daphne admitted. "I think I could lose the top as well," she said blushing. That was a little dangerous but not overly dangerous in her mind.

"Then let's lose that and have some fun," he said moving to suck on Daphne's neck. She let out a moan.

"I can lose the top," she said having a nervous excitement instead of a feeling of dread like she had earlier.

XXXXXX

Daphne woke up the next morning feeling more relaxed and better. They hadn't gone all the way last night and she felt that was just fine. Going a hair slower was better. She did want to have sex with Harry but looking back on last night she just felt stiff. Still, he was the first boy to ever see her naked breasts, that thought made her giggle like a school girl.

She was still cuddled up next to him and it felt…nice. Like this is how it should be. It would happen when it happened. Maybe it was going to be on this trip. She didn't plan to force it like she had last night.

Harry was already awake was well but kept his eyes closed, his arm still wrapped around Daphne. He didn't know what got into her mind sometimes. Did he wish that they were having sex already? Yes. Was he going to do something that Daphne wasn't ready for? Not a chance. He knew that it would come soon enough. He just hated how she seemed to put all this pressure on herself. He understood where it came from, he just didn't like it at all.

Oh well, it wasn't like they had tried to force it last night. For as clever as Daphne could be, her attempts hadn't been well planned out. It had almost worked thanks to how much he did find that he enjoyed her body. It was a strange thing to think, when he had first met her he didn't think that she was anything that special.

If you compared her to Ginny she certainly wasn't special at all, at least that's what magazine would have you believe. There was just something about Daphne's body that worked for him. She didn't have a flat tummy, nothing about her said pro athlete, and that was fine as far as Harry was concerned. He enjoyed both Ginny and Daphne. He didn't expect people to understand. Personally, he thought Hermione had been fine when her front teeth were still large, and she hadn't quite gotten her hair under control. There was just something about Hermione that seemed to work and that's what he could say about Daphne. Everything about her just worked for him. It helped that he truly enjoyed being around her and was certain that he loved her.

Harry had been thinking more about that lately. Love seemed to dominate his life, but he couldn't say he truly understood it. Despite his mother, dying for him because she loved him, he hadn't had a lot of experience with it. His childhood was devoid of it and as much as the Weasley's tried to fill that gap, he couldn't say they were successful. Molly may have treated him like one of her own, but it wasn't quite the same. Maybe if he had married Ginny he'd feel differently. He still loved the Weasley's and everything that they did for him over the years, it was just different. It was the same thing with Hermione. At one point he had thought about getting with Hermione, when they had been alone in that tent he had been close to kissing her and saying they should forget about Ron.

He wondered what would have happened if he had just gone for it then. Would he have married Hermione? He was glad he didn't make that move in retrospect. They were both just so alone and hurt then. He knew he loved her on some level and maybe it could have been elevated to something more. It was for the best, she had a crush on Ron and they were able to make it work. He was happy for both of them.

He had thought he loved Ginny too. It was just that nothing ever felt quite right when they were together. Even when they were together and were passionate in bed, those had been their best moments. That was part of the reason Harry knew that they were never meant to be. Everything about them was great physically but he couldn't imagine telling her half the things he told Daphne.

There was something about Daphne that made her easy to talk to. He felt that they connected well. She wasn't a perfect person and he loved that about her. Just seeing her and thinking about her seemed to raise his day. Sure, they didn't have sex last night and he had only gotten so far. He was content with that. It made him want more. Harry couldn't say for certain if this was what love was. If it wasn't, then it was the closet that he had ever gotten. Just holding her and thinking about her now made him feel like he never had before, in a good way.

"Are you up dear?" Daphne asked yawning. She had been laying there just listening to his heart beat for a bit.

"Yeah," Harry said playing with her hair. "Now aren't you happy you didn't force yourself?" he asked.

Daphne blushed. "Yes, I just…I want to show you how much I love you," she said her own heart pounding at the thought of him.

"I know, but just being here is enough," Harry said.

"What do you want to do today?" Daphne asked.

"Want to go and see what's around a bit?" he asked.

"That sounds great," Daphne said as they both got up to head out for the day.

XXXXXX

Daphne and Harry spent the afternoon walking around the city, visiting the sites, and the shops. Both of them were feeling lighter than they had in years. It was nice just to be alone. No one was looking at them or gawking at them. No one seemed to know that they were in Italy which was just the way that Harry liked it.

As they entered the suite again Harry found an owl waiting for him on the balcony. "Oh what's this about?" Harry asked grumbling. He had told Hermione and Ron to only contact him if it was important. He didn't think they'd abuse that but he really didn't want to deal with anything else today.

 _Harry,_

 _I'm not sure how anyone found out but a reporter from the Prophet found out that you're in Italy. Just be careful. I don't know what all they'll print if they have anything at all. I don't know if they can find you. A friend who works there just gave me the heads up. Just watch out. I hope the flight was good!_

 _Much love,_

 _Hermione_

Harry groaned as he read the letter and shook his head. "Did you tell anyone in your family that you were taking off?" Harry asked.

Daphne shook her head no. "Of course not, Astoria stopped by before we left but I didn't say anything to her. I don't want them to know. I was going to write them because they'll freak out otherwise. I just wasn't going to mention that I was in Italy" Daphne said.

"Okay, well we have to be careful. Apparently, the Prophet knows we're in Italy. Hermione didn't say how much they know," he shrugged annoyed that he couldn't get a bit of peace.

Just then another owl flew in with a paper and a letter. "That'd be Astoria's owl, oh joy," Daphne said glumly ignoring the paper as she opened the letter.

 _Daphne,_

 _Really? Just really? I don't mind if you want to take a holiday but please behave better. No one wants to see this. Daddy couldn't kill the story. Be more careful. I've gotten far too many letters already._

 _-Astoria Malfoy_

Daphne looked at the letter a little confused as Harry was looking at the paper and moved to throw it out. "What does the paper say?" she asked a little afraid now.

"It's nothing," Harry said a little too quickly and started to crumple the paper.

Daphne's nostrils flared and she glared. "What is it?" she asked reaching for it.

"Are you sure about this?" Harry asked looking defeated.

"Yes," Daphne said grabbing the paper as Harry shook his head sadly. He didn't bother waiting, he wrapped her into a hug. On the front page were pictures of Daphne in her bikini from last night.

 _ **Too Much Greengrass?**_

 _Harry Potter with his squeeze Daphne Greengrass were spotted in Italy at an exclusive muggle hotel. Why would they stay in a muggle location? Has Miss. Greengrass fully turned her back on her heritage? Has she poisoned Mr. Potter's mind to the joys of being a wizard? We are currently uncertain._

 _What is certain though is that perhaps Miss. Greengrass isn't a witch in the same league as Harry Potter. Normally seen in drab dresses that hide her figure, she opted for a scandalous two-piece bathing suit that hid nothing at all._

 _It is obvious that Miss. Greengrass isn't unfamiliar with the fine restaurants that Mr. Potter enjoys taking her too. It also seems that she prefers an easy life as opposed to something where she has to work. One must wonder if she even cares about her looks. Most women would care about that dating Harry Potter. Instead she was spotted overeating when they went to dinner._

 _It was difficult to see Mr. Potter's reaction but one can only wonder what he sees in her. The Prophets own fashion expert knows there are at least three well-known models who would…_

Daphne couldn't read anymore. She felt sick to her stomach and she has tears streaming down her face. Harry was hugging her and kissing her neck, trying to soothe her a bit.

"I…I…uh…I need to be a-alone for a bit," she said squirming out of his grasp.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked. "You know that I…"

"I. Need. To. Be. Alone," Daphne said firmly.

Harry didn't like the idea of leaving her alone as she went to the bed to lay down.

"I'll check up on you in an hour?" he asked and got no answer as Daphne curled up on the bed and started to breathe in and out deeply to calm herself down.

Harry decided that he was going to check up on her in an hour or so. He was seething. He didn't know why the Prophet had printed that or followed him to Italy. He was going to be sure that something like this never happened to Daphne again. He just needed to figure out how to make that happen. For now, he was heading downstairs to the hotel bar to give her some space. He'd force something in an hour if she was bad but for now he was going trust her. He wasn't going to take this laying down. Harry Potter wasn't a Gryffindor for no reason. He was a lion and they were going to hear him roar.

 **Please Review**


	16. The Meaning To His Life

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and kind words. Only note this week is that there will be no update next weekend. It's my birthday weekend and I have plans. Unless I get sick or something expect an update in two weeks.**

 **Chapter 16**

Daphne lay in bed with a pillow over her head trying to control her breathing. She knew this could happen. She had often worried about it. The press just loved to attack Harry. She didn't understand why that was but being famous had a price, apparently. She was grateful that Harry was giving her at least a little bit of time alone. She just didn't want to be around anyone at the moment.

She lay there feeling bad for herself for a little bit before letting out a sigh. She could feel her mood getting worse. She could feel the tears coming on. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to hold it in. The little voice in the back of her head was getting louder. Telling her that she was worthless.

Daphne thought about what Cheryl had said and went into her bag. She wasn't sure that writing out her feelings would work. It was worth a try. Harry was certainly going to give her an hour before he even thought about coming back. He'd probably be back right at the hour mark, if not before. She knew how he liked to worry about her. He shouldn't do that.

She pulled out a notebook and a pen, nothing against parchment, she just didn't like carrying a bottle and quill with her even if magic made it easy. She opened it up and wasn't really sure what she wanted to write. She pursed her lips and decided to just start writing.

 _Well this was a lovely day! Wasn't it? The Prophet would follow us. Not only follow us but they have to do a story me. Like I ever did anything to them. I'm just! Ugh! This is horrible. Harry doesn't care what they say. How can he not though? I'd start to care at some point. Well maybe not. Why should the Prophet dictate how he lives his life?_

Daphne tapped her pen on the paper a bit.

 _I mean, why should he do that? I remember all those articles over the years. Not that Skeeter ever wrote anything good. They couldn't even get his age right. How do you mess that up? How'd she get that job anyway? I know she was more opinion but not getting anything right? Horrible really. Okay well what am I going to do now. Is it really that bad? Yes, they insulted me, and I feel horrible. Okay I feel more than horrible. I feel like everyone will know I'm not good enough for Harry._

Daphne sniffled a little bit and wiped the tears out of her face. A few fell on the paper and she had to take a moment to compose herself.

 _I'm not good enough for him. They would have done this either way. Then they would have just gushed about whatever model he was dating. Would they have though? It's not like the Prophet was ever kind to anyone. Minus people who were either on the payroll or were overly friendly to them. Probably would have said something about Ginny being too pale or something. My family is going to hate this of course. They're probably going to want to talk to me when I get back. Why should I have to deal with it. Yes, they're my parents but I can't go to Italy with my hot boyfriend? It's not like we set this up. Can't do anything about it either. Could do a Quibbler piece but I never cared for Lovegood._

Daphne sighed and squeezed the bridge of her nose. "Is this any better than talking to myself?" she asked wiping a few more tears away.

 _I do feel a bit better I guess. I'm not shaking or sobbing. I know I look bad. I don't need to be reminded what a hideous beast I am. Harry has to think it, doesn't he? After all we didn't have sex last night. He wanted it though. The only reason he didn't do it with me was because he was worried I was shaking. He always likes to feel my body. He continues to want to spend time with me. If I hadn't asked for space he'd be here right now with me. Maybe I'm wrong on this. Okay I don't look like the most amazing person in the world. I have great hair. My ass is big but it could be worse. I wish I hadn't sent Harry away. I wish he was here holding me._

Daphne took a deep breath. She did feel better. It was strange to say but writing her unfiltered thoughts down seemed to help clear everything out in her head a bit. Looking at the window and balcony she cast a quick privacy charm to be on the safe side, couldn't believe that she forgot that earlier. She went back to writing, just forty-two more minutes until Harry got back.

XXXXXX

Exactly at the hour mark Harry walked back into the room. He looked a little calmer than when he had left. Daphne was calmer too and still writing in her notebook. She closed it, not wanting him to see her thoughts and looked up at him. "I'm not happy but I feel better," she said smiling weakly.

Harry nodded and looked at her. He could tell that she had been crying and was likely cried out at this point. He was happy that she seemed to be calm. He had been expecting her sobbing and in a bad place when he returned but she seemed to sad but coping. "Good, I spent an hour thinking about what I'm going to do about this," he said walking up to her and massaging her shoulders.

Daphne shuddered a bit at his touch and moaned. "Oh, thank you," she said. "What are you going to do?" she asked.

"Idea number one was destroy the Prophet," Harry said.

"That's illegal,"

"Never said it was a great idea,"

Daphne couldn't help but snort. "And your first realistic idea?"

"I thought I could buy the Prophet, but I don't know anything about running a paper and I'm guessing you don't either," he said grimaced and moving away from her to lay down on the bed.

"You're be correct about that," Daphne said standing up and walking over to join him on the bed. "I guess the only rule would be to not post pictures of my ass on the front page," she said blushing a bit.

"I could sue. Then again, we were technically out in public and I get the feeling that the response would be, it's your own fault for not putting up privacy charms," Harry said.

"I think they probably would say that," Daphne said stretching out.

"That's out. I have…I don't know if I can do anything to make it better. What's the point of being Lord Potter-Black if it's not going to actually do anything. I don't have any protection. I have a mountain of gold but I'm not about to just bribe people to be nice to me," Harry said.

"I can appreciate that. Daddy would disagree. I'm fairly certain that he's going to pay a mountain of gold to some reporter to get a good story on the family or Astoria," Daphne said mildly disgusted. She knew that he probably tried to do something for her but this was too big a story.

"It's just a bad situation. I just…hate this," Harry said. "I just hate the extreme whiplash," Harry said.

"I know what you mean. It's like, you think it would stop at some point," Daphne sighed and cuddled up to him.

"It'll never stop,"

"I know, I'm sorry,"

"It's fine. It just makes deciding what I want to do harder,"

"You could live in the muggle world,"

Harry stayed silent for a few moments, thinking it over before shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I know you do it, but I just don't want to live without magic. I've thought about it before. I just don't think it's for me. Besides I'd have to go and get a muggle education and it just doesn't interest me,"

"Sitting at a desk all day answering the phone doesn't do it for you?" she chuckled.

"Can't say it does, desk work at the ministry bored me to tears,"

"That's fair. It just means that you're going to have a harder time picking out what you want,"

"I know it sounds crazy, but I just want to find a job where I can be happy, be magical, and I don't know do something with my life. We don't have to do that. I thought about just packing everything we own and move somewhere else," he said holding her closer.

Daphne didn't notice that he had said 'we' instead of 'I'. "So, in this future I just go with you?" Daphne asked.

"I'd hope so. If you don't then…" Harry trailed off suddenly feeling nervous.

"No, I do want to well I just…you won't just make the decision without talking to me?" she asked.

"Well, yes. I'd discuss it with you first. You'd tell me if it's a bad idea?"

"Of course. I'm not going to keep my mouth shut if I think you're doing something stupid,"

"So why didn't you say anything when I quit the Auror's?" Harry asked running his fingers through her hair.

"I knew you didn't like that job. You didn't abhor it until the end, but you didn't love it either. If I thought it was a horrible mistake or idea I'd have said something," she said.

Harry nodded and lay there, holding her tighter to him.

"I'm sorry that you had to deal with these vultures," Daphne said. "I'm also sorry I kind of believe what they used to say, kind of," she blushed.

"It's fine. In retrospect, Dumbledore really shouldn't have let Rita get close to me. How's a fourteen-year-old supposed to navigate their way through a reporter," Harry said feeling disgusted with how he was treated while he was at school.

"I know, it isn't fair," Daphne said lovingly rubbing his body.

"Sometimes I do think it's worth leaving. Just disappearing and doing something. Living my life, the way I want to. I'd miss Hermione and Ron. Teddy and Andi too. It sounds great, but I don't think I could live without them," Harry said.

"I know. I know how you feel. I wan to just ignore my family. I can't though. My sister is rough around the edges, I still love her and my parents. Doesn't mean everything is sunshine and roses. It just feels like we're stuck," Daphne sighed.

"Yeah, doesn't mean we have to listen when other people tell us how to run our lives,"

"True. I just need to do something against them. I'm tired of their lies and the constant attention. I want to get back at them,"

"Why don't you do what you did fifth year? Another Quibbler exclusive?"

"It's not a bad idea but that'll hurt them for a bit. I want something more long term,"

"I don't know anything about running a paper, but Luna and her father do. Why don't you start a new paper and have them run it? Less fake gossipy stuff and a stronger editor," Daphne suggested.

Harry stayed quiet for a moment and Daphne felt a gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach. She felt like she said something wrong. "Sorry, it's a dumb…"

"It's a brilliant idea actually," Harry said. "It might be a little hard to get them to agree to it. Her father at least. I'm not sure about Luna but some competition might just make the Prophet care. Make them look like some filthy gossip rag. I don't even care if it makes that much money," he said the wheels in his head turning. "Why stop at a paper though? The radio works. I can't imagine that I can't make something work with a television," he said.

"Magic and electricity…" Daphne started to say.

"Yes, they don't mix or work together in large doses. Has anyone tried to replicate the effects with magic? Has anyone ever tried to make a television? Why can't I just work on a charm that puts protections around the wires and keeps them from being interfered with?"

Daphne just looked at him in silence. "I don't know. I honestly have no idea. I'm not some Charms Mistress,"

"It would be worth looking into. It might be impossible but I've seen some rocks get turned into animals," Harry said tapping his fingers.

"What exactly is it you want to do?" Daphne asked.

"When I was down at the bar and having a drink. I met a man, muggle, nice guy, he was here on business. He was using a computer, typing something up for work while he drank. He was willing to show me a few things. I was shocked at what they could do. I thought they were still mostly used for games, that's all Dudley used his for. You use computers at work?"

Daphne nodded. "Yes, mostly for ticketing and taking notes. Much easier then having all that paper around and I see what you mean," Daphne said. "You want to bring electronics to the Wizarding world? Magic makes life pretty easy anyway. I can't imagine most would be interested,"

"I'm not saying bring electronics. I might have to do that. Making magical versions of them would help too You can't tell me that putting a news station on a magical version of a television wouldn't hurt he Prophet," he said.

"They do go to print fast, never check facts, and even then they will either use owls or some other form of magic. The pictures do move but it does take time," she said shrugging. "I don't know Harry, it seems like you might be wasting time. I don't think people will care about that small of a difference in time or want to learn something new,"

Harry nodded. "Okay, well maybe not make a news station or anything like that," he said. "I still think that starting a paper might be smart. I also think that I have to at least look into a way to make muggle electronics work or replicate them if possible," Harry said.

"And why is that? Most wizards just won't care," Daphne said.

"Muggleborns will. You're right. I'm probably never going to change purebloods opinions. Muggleborns are increasingly being raised with television, computers now, and other forms of entertainment. Not everyone is like Hermione, not everyone wants to throw themselves into this new culture and world totally, not everyone can live on books," Harry said.

Daphne stayed silent and thought over what he said. He wasn't wrong about that. She didn't know that many muggleborns but the ones she did know either threw themselves totally into wizarding society or whined about lack or muggle amenities.

"Plus, no offense my dear, sweet, girlfriend. Not everyone has a manor with a quidditch pitch or other distractions. Not everyone wants to only rely on magic. You have a television, are you telling me that you could just go back to not having one?"

Daphne blushed and squirmed a bit. "You are right about that. I know for a fact that as much as purebloods say muggleborns are dominating society, that's due to pure numbers than anything else. There are simply fewer purebloods. I know of more than a few muggleborns leave the wizarding world due to things like the bigotry and gulf between our worlds now. It isn't a great situation, even post-war." she said.

"Exactly! What I want to do it bridge the gap. Daphne, could imagine what it would be like if we worked together and helped bridge that gap? If we were not only able to bring over new technologies but improve relations?" Harry asked.

"And how do you want to improve relations?" Daphne asked.

"Okay, stick with me on this now," Harry said standing up and walking around, he had a nervous, energy about him. "What is the biggest issue in the school between students?" he asked.

"House rivalries," Daphne said sitting up.

"And what's the main cause of most fights?"

"It varied but mostly blood status and normal clashes between lions and snakes,"

"Correct. Now the way I see it, and I can't believe I missed it before. It's a culture clash. You want to know what I knew about wizarding culture coming in?"

"I remember how rude you were first year, so I'm going with nothing," Daphne said.

"Thanks sweets," he said kissing her forehead. "There is no class about wizard culture at Hogwarts, and Muggle Studies is a joke,"

"I remember hearing Granger talk about that. I didn't know why she was in the class," Daphne said as Harry looked at her. She shrugged. "I took it to try and learn more plus Divination bores me and other classes…would have been okay if I didn't have my sobbing episodes but it would be too hard to catch up if I was out of it for a week, which did happen," she mumbled.

Harry hugged her lovingly and kissed her on the lips this time. "I'm sorry you had to go through all those episodes like that. Back to my point, I'd venture to say that most new students just have no clue what is going on. I'm not saying it's something overly offensive but things like History of Magic doesn't teach you anything. I had to actually be in the Ministry before I had any clue how your government actually worked. That's just insane when you think about it," Harry said.

"So, you want to try and join the board of governors at Hogwarts and push them to add new classes?" Daphne asked.

"Maybe, I think that's where a lot of issues start. I think the school needs and must do better. Otherwise we're just spinning our wheels until another Dark Lord appears and we need a savior again. I'm not saying there will be no darkness but we need to do a better job at having students better understand both cultures. It's almost destroyed the wizarding world," Harry said.

Daphne nodded. "You can call them blood traitors all you want but we did lose a great number of families in the War. If anything, all the wars did was weaken pureblood standing. There's simply no way that we can survive without muggleborns," Daphne said. The Prophet article was forgotten now. It may not have been Harry's plan but just talking about things was keeping Daphne's inner voice at bay.

She couldn't hear it as it was saying how worthless she was and how Harry was going to leave her. She couldn't hear it tell her that she was an ugly excuse for a witch. Writing had taken up her mind and caused her to not even realize it was there as well. It was still there, of course. Instead of being unable to ignore it and listening to it, Daphne's mind was racing on other things and wasn't having her self-worth pecked away at. She didn't feel great and if Harry left her alone, it would return, and the loneliness would crush her, but it was a good start.

"Exactly. I want to help improve that. I want…I need to get my thoughts together on this. I want to help, I want to use my power and money to do this. I also want…" Harry said, his mind was racing now and going a mile a minute. He'd need to write all this down and get a more concrete plan later.

"I just want to use my money for good," Harry said sitting back down on the bed. Daphne got on her knees, on the bed and made her way over to him. She started to rub his shoulders.

"I need to put it on paper and figure out exactly what I want to do. I need to figure out how to do it. I know I have a lot of ideas out there right now. I just thing that me being an Aurora was helping some people, but I want to try and make a real change,"

"You know you've done enough," Daphne said resting her head on his shoulder. "It really should be someone else who does it,"

"They don't have the Potter money and they don't have the Black money. They don't have my perspective of the muggle and magical world. I'd love to run off somewhere with you. Just the two of us. Leave all this behind know," he said turning and facing her.

"I know," Daphne said getting a little nervous again. "I also know that you can't just let it go. You're too noble. Should have taken a few lessons from Draco," she teased.

Harry chuckled and kissed her. "You'll support me? I know I have a lot of ideas and they're vague right now, but I want to work on them. I want you to help me," he said.

Daphne nodded. "I'll help. There's time for that later though," she said.

Harry smiled. "Exactly," he said leaning in and kissing her again. The Prophet the last thing on either of their minds.

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	17. The Draft

**A/N: All I can really say is sorry about the long wait. This story is very personal to me for many reasons. I'm sure most of you reading can guess why. I have always wanted to finish it and I have a pretty clear path for this story. I appreciate all the support and people who have read it and waited. I cannot promise I'll keep up a solid pace, but I feel better than I have in years. Anyway, thank you all for reading this story and for your support.**

 **Chapter 17**

"Just…I can't…who does he think he is?" Astoria asked pacing around her room. "This is just, I'm the one…he can't," a groan passed through her lips as her husband watched on. He could have imagined more than a few bumps during his first year of marriage but her sister and Harry Potter wouldn't have been on his list.

"I don't know what she sees in him. He unemployed now! What sort of life is she supposed to have?"

"I think you're overacting," Draco said. He really just wanted to get to sleep and not think about Harry Potter for once. His wife wasn't going to give him that wish.

"She's in the paper now! Do you realize what this means?" she asked placing her hands on her hips.

"It means that some two-bit journalist got some information and wrote a hit job. It also means that they're both too trusting to know have put up privacy wards. You know how the press gets with him. If I recall correctly you laughed at every single piece of dating information they pulled when he was dating the Weaslette, and when they thought he might be dating Granger,"

"Didn't you provide and embellish half of that information?" Astoria asked sitting down on the bed.

"Mostly about Granger, but the point is: we knew this was coming. Your father just couldn't pay people off forever. He shouldn't either,"

"And why is that?" she asked raising an eyebrow as Draco sighed and hit his head against his pillow.

"If I say something you have to promise not to get angry," Astoria nodded in agreement. "Daphne is weird. I don't understand her. I think I married the better sister. She is also an adult who can take care of herself,"

Astoria opened her mouth in protest. Draco held up his hand. "I mean that sincerely. She lives on her own and yes, it's in the muggle world but she still does it. She knew what she was getting into with Potter and don't pretend she didn't. She's not dumb. She's strange, but she's not an idiot. No matter what your family may think,"

Astoria sat there fuming just a bit but nodding at him to continue. "This was part of it," Draco said. "This is part of what happens when you put yourself out there. If she can't handle it. Then she shouldn't be dating Potter,"

"I agree with you on that point. I just knew this would hurt her. I wanted to give him a chance. I just don't think that he's good for her," Astoria whined finally laying down on the bed and getting closer to her husband.

"He's not hurting her though. You've had to go over there less, you've spent less time reading into every letter, and you said your mother seems calmer about her,"

Astoria couldn't refute anything that he had said. This was the least she had to worry about her sister in years, perhaps ever.

"Look, I'm not the biggest Potter fan. I think he can be an arrogant little shit half the time. He is…noble. He's not dating your sister to be mean, as a joke, or because he wants her money. I don't know why he likes her but he does and you need to either relax or talk with him about this," Draco said, wrapping his arm around her and holding her close. "I don't like you getting stressed like this," he said kissing her.

Astoria pulled him tighter and nodded. "I know. I just didn't want her to be in the paper. I don't want her to spiral. I don't want…I just want her to be normal. Instead of being normal she dates the one person who she can't be that with. She seems happy with him. I just don't want it to end with her hurt more," she sniffled.

"Talk with Potter. He's dense but he's not playing games with her," Draco said.

"How can you be so sure?" Astoria asked.

"He's Harry Potter. If he really wanted to, half the girls we knew in school would be in bed with him right now and that number might be closer to 75%. If he wanted to play around, there are more eager players. Plus, your family didn't do anything to him or join up with the Dark Lord. He just honestly likes your sister. I don't understand it but it'll be fine. A few more headlines and it'll be past us," Draco feeling quite assured that the worst was over.

Astoria huffed and puffed and kicked her legs a bit. "Maybe I'll talk to him after they get back about this," she said looking up at the ceiling. That was just another stress in her life. Maybe she should let go and see if Daphne could stand on her own two feet. "I'm going to bed," she said. Things would look clearer in the morning.

Harry crumpled up another piece of paper and threw it across the room in frustration as Daphne sat next to him, reading.

"Maybe a vacation isn't the best place to do this," she said rubbing her foot up against his to comfort him.

"I know. I just…I keep going back and forth on this," he sighed. "I need to be honest. That's the first step. I know I said that I could worry about it later but…" he trailed off and looked down.

"But what?" Daphne asked putting her book down.

"It's a big deal. Like I want it to be perfect. I take it back. I don't want it to be perfect. I need it to be perfect. I can't get it out of my head. I'm sorry. I know you want to be off doing something fun,"

"I'm happy here with you," she smiled at him. "I just don't like seeing you like this,"

"Okay, I'll stop it for now," he said putting the paper down. "I don't know if I'll go through with it anyway,"

"Why not?"

"Because…because I'm going to have to go all out with it. I'm going to have to explain things to everyone. People are going to know everything about it. I've done a lot for this world; do I need to do more?" he asked.

Daphne gave him a look. "I think, you do. At least that's how you feel. You came in here ranting like a mad man about how you wanted to change the world with your money. I understand you were a little on edge but I think you want to do this," she started to rub his arm lovingly.

Harry stayed quiet as he pulled her closer. "You're right. It's just that you're the only person who knows just how bad it was. I'm putting myself out there with this,"

"I don't think that's a bad thing. What happened to you was awful," she said sadly. It still bothered her when she thought about his childhood. She knew that things like that happened but they weren't supposed to happen to the most famous wizard in England. They were supposed to happen to random nobodies. That would be horrible too but it felt surreal to think about someone who was famous from the age of one would have to endure what Harry did.

"Do you really think that me sharing is going to help?"

"I think it will. My therapist says that writing things out helps. So far, I've found it to be comforting. You don't have to publish it now. You could wait until you're ready," she suggested.

Harry thought it over grumbled a bit. "Maybe, I'm not sure what I'll do. It's just…hard y'know," he said gulping a bit. He felt a bit of pressure in his chest.

"I know,' she said rubbing his shoulders and kissing his neck. "I just think that it's something to look into. We're not going to do anything that you don't want to," she said.

Harry nodded and started to relax a bit. "I'm going to consider it. It'll take time though. You're the only one who really knows," he said.

"I'm thankful that you trust me," Daphne said smiling and laying back down on the bed, her hands moving to her torso. "When we get back to England, I want to join a gym," she said.

"Is it because of…" Harry asked treading carefully.

Daphne shrugged. "Kind of. Maybe. I'm not sure. I don't hate my body, but I think if I just started doing some more exercise it wouldn't kill me. I'm not about to crash diet or anything," she assured him understanding how it might look to him.

Harry looked unconvinced but opted to monitor the situation instead as he sighed and looked down at the paper.

"Do you need to be alone?" Daphne asked rubbing his back, lightly scratching it in a pleasing way.

"No, I'd just like you to stay here with me. I'm just going to be quiet for a bit," Harry said his hands shaking.

"We could go out for a bit. This is supposed to be a break," she said looking at all the crumpled bits of paper around them.

Harry leaned over and hugged her tight. "I don't want to lose my stomach for this, you don't mind?" he asked worried she'd say yes. Instead she just shook her head.

"If you think you need to do this now, I'll live. I mean after the paper the vacation has been messed with anyway. We'll just make the next one extra special," she said butterflies going through her stomach when she said that. She still worried that Harry wouldn't want to go on a vacation with her ever again. She shook her head. _'I really need to stop talking like that'_

"Next vacation will be much better," he promised. "I just need to get this done," he said putting his head down and going to work as Daphne reached into her bag and took out a book to read while he worked on it.

An hour later Harry felt spent. There was a gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach. He looked down at it, somewhat proud but at the same time absolutely terrified of what he had written. No matter what, he wanted to release it on his own terms. He closed his eyes and leaned back. "It's done," he said.

Daphne looked up at him. "Do you want me to read it? It's fully done?" she asked.

"Not really but everyone will. You should be the first and it's fully done," Harry said looking quite sweaty.

"If you're really uncomfortable…" she started.

"Oh hell, I love you so much. It has to be you," he said.

Daphne nodded feeling honored and gently took it from his hand to start reading it.

 _When people think of the Boy-Who-Lived they often thought of some spoiled young boy. Maybe he lived in a Castle. Maybe he lived in a Manor. That part didn't really matter. Everyone knew he was a spoiled boy who had house elves at his call at all hours of the day. As always the truth is messier. I didn't know what a house elf was until before my second year of Hogwarts._

 _There were no castles, there was no one serving me. I served others. After the death of my parents I was forced to go live with my relatives. I've often wondered the legality of it but it happened. My relatives weren't just scared of magic, they hated it and by proxy hated me._

 _I didn't know my name until I went to school. At home I as just 'Boy'. They made me sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. I was forced to cook for them, clean for them, garden for them. I was treated no better than how house elves are treated now._

 _Throughout all of it no one noticed what happened to me. My Aunt and Uncle would always find some excuse and no one from the Ministry bothered to check, if they even knew I was there._

 _Albus Dumbledore left me on their doorstep on October 31_ _st_ _. I'm uncertain if I was given a warming spell but my Aunt found me the next morning. She had no say in it and didn't love me. I didn't truly understand what love was until I reached Hogwarts._

 _I write this not looking for pity. I write this to say that we need to do better. If something like this can happen to me then it can happen to anyone. I plan on leading the way with helping any child stuck in a situation such as mine. I'm am announcing the Creation of the Harry Potter Foundation. Its goal will be to help any child in need along with improving muggle wizard relations._

Daphne read it over a few times and nodded at it. There were a few things she wanted to ask him about. The spelling and grammar weren't perfect, and it seemed like he was writing just to get it over with. "It's a lovely first draft," she said.

"First draft?" Harry asked.

"Yes, it's a solid start but it shows you wrote this in one go. At least the bulk of it. I know you've been trying to write it all day, but did you take anything from any of your other notes? Did you never improve your papers while you were at school?" she asked.

Harry didn't say anything and looked at it. "I'm not sure I can do it again," he said.

"I'm not saying you have to do it again. You've done it once you just need to adjust it. It feels like your rambling," she said. "You did it though and did anything bad happen?" she asked.

"No," Harry said a very odd feeling of calm coming over him.

"Then we can edit it and say as much or as little as you like. It's a lovely baseline," she said.

Harry didn't love the idea of bringing up those old memories anymore than he had to but if he really wanted to help abused children. He would have to. He could just throw money at it but that really wasn't the kind of thing that would work. He recalled being that age and wishing he had someone who was actually there for him. He took the paper and made sure to put it in his suitcase and then put a few different locking charms on his suitcase.

"Thanks, let's head down and get something to eat. I feel…better," he said standing up and looking at her.

"Sounds great," she said smiling. She knew that it was hard for Harry, but Harry had been there for her. She didn't know why. She was fat, she wasn't that pretty, and she was crazy. She shook her head to get those thoughts out. Harry didn't think that. Harry loved her. At any rate, they needed to go back to enjoying this vacation.

"Harry," she said.

"Yeah?"

"You know that…if you ever want to talk or share something with me that you're not going to write. I'm a great listener," she said.

Harry nodded and then a smirk appeared on his lips. "And yet you never listen to your sister," he said jokingly realizing as soon as he said it that it might be taken the wrong way. He opened his mouth to correct himself.

Daphne just snorted. "Yeah well…Astoria just has a big mouth," she said as she went to get ready.

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